Lindsey Graham says the debate only made clearer that Trump is not ready for the White House. | AP Photo Graham tells Trump to 'prepare better' for the next debate

Lindsey Graham on Wednesday delivered a stark message to Donald Trump about his debate performance: “Prepare better.”

The South Carolina senator and Trump antagonist acknowledged that the Republican nominee was able to land a few blows on Hillary Clinton, but said his overall delivery on Monday night was sub-par and that he needs to up his game for the next showdown on Oct. 9.


“I don't know if he helped himself in this first debate,” Graham said at the Washington Ideas Forum. “I thought she was really quite together. I thought Donald Trump had good moments, missed a lot of opportunities.”

Graham went on to say, “And the only advice I could give him, and take it for what it's worth, prepare better.”

Trump was widely seen as underperforming Clinton, who appeared at ease on stage and managed to bait the Manhattan billionaire by needling him about an early loan from his father, past misogynistic comments and his refusal to release his tax returns.

A POLITICO/MorningConsult poll released Wednesday found that nearly half of the likely voters surveyed declared Clinton the victor in the debate, with 49 percent saying she won, while 26 percent gave the edge to Trump. An additional 26 percent said they either didn’t know who won or had no opinion.

Clinton spent weeks cramming for the debate and running through mock sessions, while Trump reportedly took a more leisurely approach to the high-stakes showdown.

Graham, who has said he won’t vote for Trump or Clinton, on Wednesday said the debate only made clearer that Trump is not ready for the White House.

“People see somebody that's not where they think they should be in terms of judgment, temperament, and capability to deal with things that you have to deal with as president," he said.

The senator also knocked Trump for repeatedly cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has stoked the ire of the United States, with Russia’s annexation of Ukraine, its suspected hacking attacks on Democratic leaders, and its support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

While Trump claims that he’s opposed to Putin, he’s had warm words for the Russian leader.

“Mr. Trump thinks Putin is a guy he can do business with. I think Putin has an agenda. Russia is up to no good,” Graham said.

“The worst thing we could do is view Putin as a force of stability,” he went on to say, adding, “Saying Putin is a friend isn’t going to help.”

He went on to question Trump’s immigration policies, saying, “You can build a wall,” and add extra security patrols and take other security measures, “but if we don’t address why Mexicans are immigrating, we’ll never solve this,” he added.

He also said, “It’s not wise or practical to deport 11 million people.”

Graham did, however, praise Trump’s understanding that the “Iran deal [is] bad,” saying, “Trump gets a check mark for that one.”

He similarly praised Clinton for understanding that Putin is a “foe,” granting the Democratic nominee her own, “Check mark for that one.”