Disgraced ex-South Carolina governor who was caught cheating on his wife says Trump is a bully who is obsessed with not being seen as a loser - and would need a 'frontal LOBOTOMY' to put what's best for the republic first

A former Republican South Carolina governor who was caught cheating on his wife has slammed Donald Trump as a bully who is obsessed with not being seen as a loser.

Mark Sanford, 63, admitted he had been having an affair with an Argentine journalist in 2009 and it led to a divorce with his wife Jenny Sanford.

He considered stepping down as governor at the time but remained in office and said he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and serve as an example to his four sons. 

Sanford has now hit out at Trump and said he doubted the former president had ever considered not running again. 

'For him to think about what’s best for the republic would mean having a frontal lobotomy,' he told The New York Times. 

Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford who was caught cheating on his wife has slammed Donald Trump as a bully who is obsessed with not being seen as a loser

The 63-year-old admitted he had been having an affair with Argentine journalist Maria Belen Chapur (right) in 2009 and it led to a divorce with his wife Jenny Sanford

Sanford has now hit out at Trump and said he doubted the former president had ever considered not running again

Former governor Sanford said Trump's commitment to continuing his presidential campaign despite the criminal charges he faces is due to a 'preoccupation with not being seen as a loser'.

He added: 'From the number of people he’s sued over the years to the number of subcontractors he’s ripped off to all of his bankruptcies, he has just bullied his way through life. 

'He plays to an audience of one, and it’s not God — it’s Donald Trump.'

National headlines erupted in 2009 when Sanford was found to have had an extramarital affair with Maria Belen Chapur.

He confessed to it during a tearful press conference, which followed a mystery disappearance between June 18 and June 24.

Sanford had been on a secret trip to Buenos Aires where he was with his mistress Chapur.

'I have been unfaithful to my wife. I developed a relationship with what started out as a dear, dear friend from Argentina,' he said at the time. 

'I’m a bottom line kind of guy I’m just gonna lay it out. It’s gonna hurt and I’m going to let the chips fall where they may.'

He also apologized to his wife and four children and said: 'To Jenny, anybody who has observed her over the last 20 years of my life knows how closely she has stood by my side in campaign, after campaign, after campaign

Former governor Sanford said Trump's commitment to continuing his presidential campaign despite the criminal charges he faces is due to a 'preoccupation with not being seen as a loser'

Jenny Sanford separated from her husband soon after the love affair was reported in the press, and the couple was granted a divorce in 2010

Chapur and Sanford had been engaged since August 2012 but he later announced the end of their relationship in a 2,346-word public Facebook post in September 2014 

'What I did was wrong, period. I spent the last five days crying in Argentina.'

Jenny separated from her husband soon after the love affair was reported in the press, and the couple was granted a divorce in 2010.

Chapur and Sanford had been engaged since August 2012 but he later announced the end of their relationship in a 2,346-word public Facebook post in September 2014. 

The Argentine said Sandford's shock announcement came after the two spent a romantic week together in Paris.

She added that after a tumultuous five-year relationship, she pressed Sanford on the issue of marriage during their 'honeymoon'-like holiday.

Chapur claimed she learnt their engagement was off in the press following Sanford's Facebook post.

After spending several years out of the public eye, Sanford, who was once thought to be a contender for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2012, jumped back into public spotlight when he reclaimed a congressional seat he once held in a May 2013 special election. 

Sanford's comments on Trump come as polls consistently suggest that Republicans are sticking with the former president, despite four criminal indictments, and the very real possibility that he is convicted before election day in November.

Polls consistently suggest that Republicans are sticking with Trump, despite four criminal indictments, and the very real possibility that he is convicted before election day in November

Ron DeSantis on Thursday admitted that Donald Trump has been helped not hindered by his multiple criminal indictments

Supporter holds a placard with the mugshot of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, during a Trump rally in Durham, New Hampshire

He is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis admitted Trump has been helped and not hindered by the multiple criminal indictments.

'I would say if I could have one thing change, I wish Trump hadn't been indicted on any of this stuff,' he said.

Asked if it had made Trump stronger, DeSantis replied: 'It's both that but then it also ... just crowded out, I think, so much other stuff, and it sucked out a lot of oxygen.'

A rolling poll average maintained by Real Clear Politics puts Trump's advantage at 52 points over DeSantis, who is locked in battle with Nikki Haley for second place in the race.