Lindsey Graham remembered at funeral as friend and relentless fighter
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CHRIS CAMERON, PETER BAKER and DANIEL VICTOR
President Donald Trump, in a memorial service at the National Cathedral on Tuesday, eulogized Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime force on Capitol Hill who died this month at 71, as “one of the great figures in Senate history.”
“He died doing the work he was born to do,” Trump said before an audience of mourners that included several members of the Cabinet, foreign dignitaries and conservative luminaries, as well as a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Congress. “He was truly a great politician.”
Added Trump: “He went out at the peak of his career, at the top of his career, as a legend.”
Graham’s memorial service, which followed a service at the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday morning, was attended by a wide range of mourners, who represented his home state of South Carolina, both major political parties and multiple countries, reflecting the breadth of his influence over more than two decades in the Senate.
Several of those who eulogized him spoke of his quick wit and cutting sense of humor, crediting those attributes with earning him friends even among his political adversaries. Many speakers recalled anecdotes illustrating how Graham had built a reputation for being simultaneously a fierce advocate for partisan causes and one of Congress’ more willing deal makers.
“It didn’t matter to Lindsey whether an issue was popular or unpopular, whether he had the full support of his colleagues or was standing alone,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the majority leader, said during the memorial at the Capitol Rotunda. “He told things the way he saw them and he didn’t mince words.”
That included some of Graham’s dealings with the president, with whom he developed an unlikely but especially close friendship, after excoriating him as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” during the 2016 presidential campaign. Graham embraced Trump after he entered the Oval Office, becoming one of his closest advisers and most frequent golf buddies.
The two men did not always agree on policy, particularly when it came to foreign affairs. Trump made reference to that during his eulogy, noting that Graham “was truly hawkish: He never saw a war that he didn’t like.”
Some of the foreign dignitaries whose wartime causes Graham championed as a senator were in attendance, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Graham had returned from his 10th trip to Ukraine just hours before his death.
Fox News host Sean Hannity spoke of Graham’s affection for Netanyahu and Zelenskyy, as well as Trump, during his remarks.
“He loved you as he loved his country,” Hannity said to Trump during his eulogy, saying that the president’s elevation of Graham to his inner circle and the highest level of politics “meant the world” to him.
Here’s what else to know:
— South Carolina funeral: On Wednesday, a procession and public funeral was to be held in South Carolina, followed by a private burial.
— Election battle: Graham died less than four months before he was set to appear on the ballot as a strong favorite to win a fifth term. His death set off a scramble for his seat, which is being filled by his younger sister.