Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham baited a CNN reporter into asking him if Trump is a racist, only to soundly reject the notion.

WATCH:

During an exclusive interview, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Graham if he could confirm that the president referred to Haiti and African countries as “shithole countries.”

“You can keep asking me all day long and I’ll say the same thing,” Graham responded. “Why don’t you ask me, ‘is he a racist?'”

“That was my next question,” Bash admitted.

“Okay well why don’t you ask me?” Graham said coolly.

Bash followed Graham’s instructions and asked if the president is racist, only for Graham to respond, “absolutely not.”

“Let me tell you what, you can be dark as charcoal and lily white — it doesn’t matter as long as you’re nice to him,” Graham explained. “You could be the pope and criticize him — it doesn’t matter, he’ll go after the pope.

“He’s a street fighter,” Graham concluded. “It’s not the color of your skin that matters, it’s not the content of your character, it’s whether or not you show him respect or like him.”

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