--- description: Former presidential candidate Lindsey Graham said Republicans might have to support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in order to stop Donald Trump title: Lindsey Graham Says Ted Cruz Might Be the Only Way to Stop Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8d7688fbea91359/69887fd80a4a225fa39c89f3/lindsey-graham.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Senator Who Joked About Killing Ted Cruz Says Republicans Might Have to Rally—Behind Cruz  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2016 4:45 AM CUT  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) campaigns for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at a town hall style meeting on Feb. 6. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) campaigns for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at a town hall style meeting on Feb. 6.Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2016 4:45 AM CUT Former presidential candidate and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday [Republicans might have to support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/271439-graham-gop-may-have-to-rally-around-ted-cruz "undefined") in order to [stop Donald Trump](http://time.com/4244074/never-donald-trump-movement-super-tuesday/ "undefined") from winning the nomination—just days after he [joked about killing Cruz](http://time.com/4238930/lindsey-graham-republicans-bats-crazy/ "undefined") on the floor of the Senate. “Ted Cruz is not my favorite by any means, and I don’t wish him ill—I was making a joke about Ted—but we may be in a position where we have to rally around Ted Cruz as the only way to stop Donald Trump, and I’m not so sure that would work,” Graham told CBS, as Trump solidified his position as frontrunner with a string of Super Tuesday victories. Asked to confirm if he would rather support Cruz than see a Trump nomination, Graham laughed. “I can’t believe I would say yes, but yes,” he said. Cruz is widely disliked by his Senate colleagues, none of whom have endorsed his candidacy.  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4244223/super-tuesday-donald-trump-ted-cruz-lindsey-graham/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4244223/super-tuesday-donald-trump-ted-cruz-lindsey-graham/"},"headline":"A Senator Who Joked About Killing Ted Cruz Says Republicans Might Have to Rally—Behind Cruz","datePublished":"2016-03-02T04:45:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:19.509Z","description":"Lindsey Graham is having a change of heart to stop Donald Trump","url":"https://time.com/4244223/super-tuesday-donald-trump-ted-cruz-lindsey-graham/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8d7688fbea91359/69887fd80a4a225fa39c89f3/lindsey-graham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8d7688fbea91359/69887fd80a4a225fa39c89f3/lindsey-graham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush Holds Town Hall In Bedford, NH","caption":"Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush Holds Town Hall In Bedford, NH","creditText":"Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4244223/super-tuesday-donald-trump-ted-cruz-lindsey-graham/","name":"A Senator Who Joked About Killing Ted Cruz Says Republicans Might Have to Rally—Behind Cruz"}}]}] ```