Lindsey Graham dies at age 71 after “a brief and sudden illness”
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died on July 11, according to his office. He was 71 years old.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he spoke by phone with Lindsey Graham on Saturday, July 11, at around 7 p.m. ET, hours before his Senate office announced that Graham had died overnight, detailing that the South Carolina senator appeared tired but was otherwise in good spirits.
Mr. Graham, 71, had just visited Ukraine, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, July 10, before taking a long flight back to Washington.
“He said, ‘I feel good, but I’m tired,'” Trump said in a phone interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” a Sunday morning political show on which Graham was scheduled to appear. “He was fine. I knew him well. He let you know when he wasn’t feeling well. He had days when he didn’t feel so good and he let you know.”
Mr. Graham’s shocking death shocked the nation’s capital and his home state of South Carolina. Mr. Graham spent decades in politics, first as a state representative and then as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming a U.S. senator in 2003.
“It’s hard to lose him,” President Trump said. “He was amazing. In fact, he was unique in every way.”
President Trump says of Graham during phone call: ‘His voice was great’
Trump said in the call that Graham told him, “‘We’re ready for the SAVE America Act,'” referring to the long-stalled state of the bill that Trump has been pushing to overhaul federal elections. “He was pushing the SAVE America Act like crazy.”
“He said he had just arrived from Ukraine. I said, ‘It’s been a long journey,'” Trump said of the meeting. “He sounded a little tired, which was perfect, but he sounded a little tired. I mean, he was a worker. He really was a worker. But his voice was great.”
Trump said he told Graham he would see him soon. “I thought we might see each other today, and that was it,” the president said. “That may have been his last call. I don’t know exactly.”
Emergency responders were dispatched to Graham’s Capitol building around 8:30 p.m. ET after receiving a report of someone suffering from chest pains, according to audio on the Broadcastify website, which archives public safety radio footage.
Graham’s office said the senator died from a “brief, sudden illness,” but did not say what his illness was or whether he had suffered a heart condition.
President Trump said he received a message around 1 a.m. ET that Graham had died.
Trump recalls Kavanaugh confirmation as one of Graham’s greatest moments
Mr. Graham was one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted allies in the Senate, but the relationship was not always cordial. When Graham ran for president in the 2016 Republican primary, he called Trump a “fraud,” “crazy,” “weird,” and “unfit for public office,” and like many Republicans who criticized him that year, he converted to Trump soon after becoming the party’s nominee.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham helped secure the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was recently nominated by President Trump to the Supreme Court. Trump also recalled Graham’s fiery defense of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who overcame accusations of sexual assault from a young age to be confirmed by the court.
“I think his moment about Brett Kavanaugh is one of the classics in the history of the Senate. He defended Brett Kavanaugh beautifully,” Trump said. “And Brett might not have made it otherwise. They treated him very cruelly.”
Trump said Graham was “like a family member,” knew how to work with members of both political parties, and loved serving in the Senate and being a politician.
“He was such a champion. He had the unique ability to deal with Democrats and Republicans if he wanted to get something,” Trump said. “If I had a problem, even if it was a real problem, I don’t really ask. But if I had a problem with a Democrat, he would solve it. In fact, he was a great politician.”
President Trump knows who he wants to replace Graham in the Senate.
Under South Carolina law, Governor Henry McMaster, an ally of President Trump, is tasked with appointing an interim senator to replace Graham before a special election is held in August to choose the next senator.
President Trump said he had a specific person in mind to replace Graham in the Senate, but he did not specify who. President Trump said, “There are people who think it’s great, but I don’t want to say anything about Lindsay right now because it’s too early.” “I don’t want to talk about anyone, but there are people I think are really nice people.”
President Trump predicted that Graham was on track to easily win re-election in November, adding that he didn’t know what Graham would do with himself if he didn’t win.
“I said, ‘The reason I support you is because I have to make sure you win. Because if you don’t win, I don’t think you can handle life,'” Trump said. “You know, some guys can lose and try something else, but I can’t imagine him doing anything else.”
“I said, ‘If you’re not a United States senator, I don’t know if he’s going to last long,’ but let’s see what happens,” the president said. “He was going to win big, and people love him. Everybody loves him.”
Trump later corrected himself.
“No, no, he had some enemies. He was a tough cookie. Don’t get me wrong, if he thinks he’s right and there are people who disagree with him, he can actually be very tough,” the president said.
