The South Carolina senator and Trump’s one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination disclosed to reporters on Thursday that he and the presumptive nominee spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes on Wednesday. | AP Photo Sen. Graham takes a call with Trump: He's a 'funny' guy

Sen. Lindsey Graham is still fully, absolutely, completely on the #NeverTrump train.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t take a phone call with the billionaire business mogul every once in a while.


The South Carolina senator and Trump’s one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination disclosed to reporters on Thursday that he and the presumptive nominee spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes on Wednesday. Trump had courted the hawkish Graham, a leading voice in the GOP on defense issues, for his input on national security policy, the senator said.

But Trump turned on the charm for Graham, who called the conversation “very cordial [and] funny.”

“He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s from New York, he obviously can take a punch,” Graham told reporters. “I wished him well and that’s where we are.”

Later Thursday, Graham’s office issued a statement elaborating on the phone call, noting that Trump asked “good questions” on national security yet stressing that no, he’s not going to vote for Trump now.

“My position remains the same regarding both candidates running for president,” Graham said in the statement. “I will do what I can in the Senate to help the next president. The next president will inherit a mess.”

