MSNBC panel shreds Lindsey Graham's slavish devotion to Trump: 'He wants to be attorney general so badly'

Panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" ridiculed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for abandoning his dignity to back President Donald Trump.

The South Carolina Republican was particularly outspoken during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and political analyst Mike Barnicle said Graham's late friend, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), wouldn't even recognize him.

"I think what John McCain would say is, 'Lindsey, who are you? What has happened to you?'" Barnicle said. "Because clearly, I mean, he morphed into Donald Trump, into a Donald Trump supporter, before John McCain was even put in the ground in Annapolis. It is shocking how quickly he switched over to maybe who he really is. We don't know who he really is."

Graham has frequently appeared on "Morning Joe," but Barnicle said his personality has changed in recent months.

"He's engaging, he can be funny, he can be sort of introspective about things like the United States Senate," Barnicle said. "But during the course of these hearings he is someone who is unrecognizable in terms of who you thought he was ... I mean, who is he?"

Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, agreed Graham had done a complete about-face since running against Trump in the Republican primaries -- and he speculated the senator was hoping to be appointed to a cabinet position.

"Think about the things he said during the campaign about Donald Trump, couldn't be further from where he is now, and you just get a sense is this Sen. Graham speaking or is this future Attorney General Graham speaking," McKinnon said.

Host Joe Scarborough agreed that Graham's personal ambitions had clouded his judgment.

"He wants to be attorney general so badly," Scarborough said.