Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, died Saturday evening at age 71 after a brief and sudden illness.
Graham, elected to the Senate in 2002, was a prominent figure in Washington’s foreign policy debates. He had just returned from Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. His office confirmed no prior health concerns were known before the trip.
Lindsey Graham’s political legacy and shifting stance on Trump
Graham was a staunch supporter of military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, despite Trump’s more conciliatory approach toward Moscow. During his final visit, he worked on a Russia sanctions bill, stating it would provide Trump with tools to end the war.
His relationship with Trump evolved over time. In 2015, he called Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” By 2021, after the Capitol riots, Graham declared, “Enough is enough,” yet later became one of Trump’s strongest backers, citing his policies on the southern border, the killing of Qasem Soleimani, and conservative judicial appointments.
Global tributes to the late senator
Zelensky called Graham a “determined leader” who visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion, standing with the country “when it was most needed.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Graham as a champion of U.S.-Israel security ties, stating, “Israel lost one of its greatest friends.”
