'I’m trying to help you with your tax status. I’m sorry the government’s so f——- up.'he said. Graham 'white men' joke surfaces

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s possible 2016 presidential bid may have just gotten a bit more complicated.

An audio recording provided to CNN captured the South Carolina Republican joking at a private Charleston club that “white men who are in male-only clubs are going to do great in my presidency.”


According to the CNN report Wednesday, Graham confirmed the veracity of the recordings. Graham was speaking to the Hibernian Society of Charleston, a charitable group with an all-male membership.

In the recording according to CNN, Graham is heard saying: “I’m trying to help you with your tax status. I’m sorry the government’s so f——- up. If I get to be president, white men in male-only clubs are going to do great in my presidency.”

Graham, a two-term Republican, is facing Brad Hutto in his bid for reelection. The Democratic state senator is not considered a major threat to unseat Graham, who fended off challenges from the right in the Republican primary.

“When behind the closed doors of a private club, Lindsey Graham let his true colors show,” Hutto said in a statement published on his campaign site. “He is only interested in his own ambitions and the best interests of the wealthy donors he hopes will fund his possible presidential campaign.”