President Says He Spoke With Graham Hours Before His Sudden Passing, Calls the Senator “Like a Member of the Family”
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was shocked and deeply saddened by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), revealing that he had spoken with the longtime senator on Saturday evening, just hours before Graham passed away.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump recalled Graham telling him, “I feel good, but I’m tired.”
“He was fine. I knew him well. He would let you know if he wasn’t feeling well. He had days when he didn’t feel so well, and he’d let you know about it,” Trump said.
According to Trump, Graham had “just landed from Ukraine” before the call.
“He sounded a little bit tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. He had a right to be. I mean, he was a worker. He was really a worker. But he sounded great,” the president said.
Trump said Graham’s office informed him of the senator’s death just a few hours later, at around 1 a.m.
“I said, ‘You guys, I just can’t believe it.’ He was like a member of the family to me,” Trump said. “There was nobody like him. He loved being a politician. And he was going to win his election.”
“He’s a tough one to lose,” the president added. “He was great. He was unique in every way, actually.”
Graham, a close ally of Trump, died following a “brief and sudden illness,” according to a statement released by his office on Saturday evening. He was 71.
A statement posted on social media early Sunday said Graham’s family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
No further details were provided regarding the circumstances surrounding Graham’s death. The former Air Force lawyer had served in Congress for three decades.
Asked by NBC whether he had a preferred candidate to succeed Graham in the Senate, Trump said he already had someone in mind but declined to reveal the name out of respect for the late senator.
“I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don’t want to say it now because it’s just too soon with Lindsey,” Trump said. “I don’t even want to talk about anybody, but I do have somebody who I think is really good.”
Referring to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster as “a good friend of mine,” Trump expressed confidence that McMaster would “do the right thing” in filling the vacant Senate seat.
“But ultimately, there’s going to be an election pretty soon, as I understand the rules. Every state is different. But ultimately they’ll have an election,” Trump said. “They’ll have some people joining. Some are good. Some are bad. But I have somebody that I like. But I’m not going to tell you who now because it’s too soon.”
A longtime advocate of a strong U.S. foreign policy, Graham had recently traveled to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said the senator had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said following news of Graham’s death.
Graham was also among the leading supporters of Trump’s war in Iran, having advocated for years for direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran. He was also a major supporter of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States was inseparable.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by the Israeli government on Sunday. “America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
