Donald Trump has hit back at fellow Republicans fed up with his behaviour in a fiery speech on Tuesday in which he revealed a rival presidential candidate’s cell phone number.

Floods of Trump supporters jammed the phone line of 2016 Republican presidential hopeful senator Lindsey Graham, who recently called Trump a “jackass” in an ongoing feud between the two rivals.

Trump is now at odds with much of the Republican establishment after a series of incendiary comments, topped by his recent mocking of senator John McCain’s experience as a tortured prisoner of war in Vietnam.



The real estate developer and reality TV host has since intensified his criticism of McCain and his record on veterans issues in the US Senate, even as politicians from both parties and veterans groups have rushed to his defence.

Trump, despite performing well in recent polls, is still considered a long shot among the crowded field of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. But in this early stage of the campaign, the attention on Trump has drawn the spotlight away from favourites such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

Trump continued his offensive in a speech to hundreds of supporters in South Carolina on Tuesday, accusing McCain of being soft on illegal immigration.

“He’s totally about open borders and all this stuff,” Trump said.

McCain sparked Trump’s temper last week when he said his inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants had brought out the “crazies”. On Tuesday, McCain said he would no longer respond to Trump’s comments.



Republican leaders and other 2016 candidates have been frustrated by Trump’s brash campaign, which has often overshadowed their own in recent weeks. But many Trump backers in early-voting states argue the exchange is being overblown by the media and his opponents, who fear his sudden rise in early polls.

Even many non-Trump supporters doubted the latest controversy would hurt his appeal among a slice of the electorate that is deeply frustrated with the Washington establishment and finds his unvarnished persona refreshing.

Graham, a friend of McCain and one of the 16 notable Republicans running for the presidential nomination, betrayed the growing exasperation and anger of many in the party when he appeared on CBS This Morning.

“Don’t be a jackass,” Graham said. “Run for president. But don’t be the world’s biggest jackass.”

He said Trump had “crossed the line with the American people” and predicted this would be “the beginning of the end with Donald Trump”.

Trump responded during his speech by calling Graham an “idiot” and a “lightweight”. He then held up a piece of paper and read out the senator’s cell phone number to a crowd of 540 people and a TV audience.

“Give it a shot,” Trump encouraged. “He won’t fix anything, but I think he’ll talk to you.”

The Guardian made several attempts to reach Graham on the number Trump revealed. The voicemail message identified the senator as the phone’s owner.

Graham’s campaign manager Christian Ferry released a statement saying Trump had shown he was “ill-prepared” to be president.

“The two people most excited about Donald Trump’s candidacy are Barack

Obama and Hillary Clinton.

“Because of Trump’s bombastic and ridiculous campaign, we aren’t talking about Obama’s horrible deal with Iran or Hillary Clinton’s plans to continue Obama’s failed national security agenda,” he said.

Graham’s voice mailbox was full Tuesday afternoon. Graham later tweeted: “Probably getting a new phone. iPhone or Android?”