Lindsey Graham wins second-tier #GOPDebate on Twitter
In CNN's second-tier debate, Twitter users couldn't stop talking about one candidate: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Graham was mentioned in more than 10,000 tweets from beginning to end of the debate, according to social media analytics site Topsy. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was next, with almost 6,000 tweets.
From bold quotes to funny hand gestures, debate viewers sent out gifs, videos and quotes featuring Graham during the #GOPDebate.
Here are the top 5 moments mentioned during the first debate Wednesday night:
1. The moment Graham told Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, to "talk to the hand."
2. Twitter users cheered on Graham's suggestion that Washington needs to "drink more." In fact, he said: "That's the first thing I'm gonna do as president. We're gonna drink more." He was referring to President Reagan's habit of having a drink with his political opponent Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill.
3. Graham's self-deprecating humor was also a big hit. He seemed to mock himself more than any other candidate during the debate, which was held in the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. By the end of the debate, he said it would be the longest time he'd spent in any library.
4. Graham called out former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton out for the attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi: "Where the hell were you on the night of the Benghazi attack?"
5: Finally, many in the social media sphere praised Graham for "keeping it real" when he said he doesn't speak English very well.