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Trump praises Graham as ‘one of the greatest people I have ever known’
Lindsey Graham’s death is a personal blow to Donald Trump, for whom he was a political cheerleader and frequent golf partner. The president praised Graham, one of his closest allies, on Truth Social and said details on funeral arrangements would follow.
Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!
Key events
The statement issued by Lindsey Graham’s office said only that the senator had “passed away from a brief and sudden illness”. It gave no further details.
Citing police scanner audio, the Washington Post (paywall) reports that emergency medical services had received a call at about ۸.۳۰pm on Saturday for a person suffering chest pains at Graham’s home on Capitol Hill. About ۲۵ minutes later, according to the Post, emergency personnel said CPR was in progress and a man was suffering cardiac arrest.
David Smith
Lindsey Graham grew up in Central, a small town in South Carolina, where his parents ran a restaurant and pool hall. He was the first member of his family to go to college, earning undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina.
He served as an air force lawyer then joined the South Carolina Air National Guard. He was elected to the House of Representatives in ۱۹۹۴ and was a manager during Bill Clinton’s ۱۹۹۹ impeachment trial.
Elected to the Senate in ۲۰۰۲, Graham carved out a reputation as one of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken foreign policy hawks. He supported the US war in Iraq and had long urged military action in Iran. He opposed the nuclear agreement negotiated by Barack Obama and had been one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in the current conflict.
He briefly sought the Republican presidential nomination in ۲۰۱۶ and was initially a sharp critic of Trump, then the insurgent frontrunner. He condemned Trump as a “jackass”, “a race-baiting bigot” and “the most flawed nominee in the history of the Republican party”, memorably warning on Twitter:
If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.
Trump, in turn, dismissed Graham as an “idiot” and a “lightweight”.
But the relationship was transformed after Trump entered the White House and Graham became one of the president’s closest confidants. He emerged as a key adviser on foreign policy, particularly Iran and Russia. He also rallied the defence of Trump’s embattled nominee for the supreme court, Brett Kavanaugh, in ۲۰۱۸.
Graham wobbled only after Trump’s supporters staged an insurrection at the US Capitol on ۶ January ۲۰۲۱ in an effort to overturn his election defeat. The senator declared:
Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey – I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president but today, first thing you’ll see. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.
His rebellion did not last, however, and he refused to vote to convict Trump at the subsequent impeachment trial. He was again quick to endorse Trump in the ۲۰۲۴ presidential election.
Graham’s death marks the passing of the last of the “three amigos”, comprising Graham, Joe Lieberman and John McCain, senators and close friends who each made unsuccessful bids for the presidency. McCain died in ۲۰۱۸, Lieberman in ۲۰۲۴.
Trump praises Graham as ‘one of the greatest people I have ever known’
Lindsey Graham’s death is a personal blow to Donald Trump, for whom he was a political cheerleader and frequent golf partner. The president praised Graham, one of his closest allies, on Truth Social and said details on funeral arrangements would follow.
Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!
Senator Lindsey Graham has died after sudden illness, his office says
David Smith
Lindsey Graham, a longtime US senator and key ally of Donald Trump, has died from a sudden illness, his office said on Sunday. He had just turned ۷۱.
Graham’s abrupt death will send shock waves through Washington and the Republican party. He had served in the Senate since ۲۰۰۳, representing South Carolina, and was running for re-election in November.
“On the evening of Saturday ۱۱ July, US senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.
