Story highlights "You can be as dark as charcoal and lily white, it doesn't matter as long as you're nice to him," Graham said

"What you say about him matters more than anything else," Graham added

Washington (CNN) Sen. Lindsey Graham is pushing back on allegations that President Donald Trump is a racist, saying that even the Pope isn't safe from Trump's counter-punches.

"You can be as dark as charcoal and lily white, it doesn't matter as long as you're nice to him. You can be the Pope and criticize him, it doesn't matter. He'll go after the Pope," the South Carolina Republican told CNN's Dana Bash in an exclusive interview.

"What you say about him matters more than anything else," Graham added.