Sen. Mark Kirk said he won't support Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the general election. | AP Photo Mark Kirk: Trump 'too bigoted and racist' to be president

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk will not support Donald Trump because the real estate mogul is “too bigoted and racist" for the people of his state, the Republican lawmaker said Thursday.

“Do you think that he would be a commander in chief that understands the very, very serious nature of this threat that’s gonna continue for the foreseeable future, or do you think Hillary Clinton might be a better president?” Kirk was asked during an interview with “Big” John Howell on Chicago's WLS-AM 890.


“I do not support Hillary Clinton,” Kirk said in response, according to audio posted by BuzzFeed, “and I told the public that I did not support Donald Trump, either. I think he’s too bigoted and racist for the Land of Lincoln.”

Kirk will instead write in former CIA Director David Petraeus.

“I think if he announced, he would just light up the political spectrum,” Kirk said.

Kirk, the most endangered Senate Republican facing reelection this year, announced last week that he could no longer support his party’s presumptive presidential nominee — a comment that came in the wake of a string of controversial comments from the billionaire businessman.

“As the presidential campaign progressed, I was hoping the rhetoric would tone down and reflect a campaign that was inclusive, thoughtful and principled,” Kirk had said in a statement. “While I oppose the Democratic nominee, Donald Trump's latest statements, in context with past attacks on Hispanics, women and the disabled like me, make it certain that I cannot and will not support my party's nominee for President regardless of the political impact on my candidacy or the Republican Party.”