From Trump critic to ally, Lindsey Graham was a political survivor of the Maga era
Lindsey Graham, who has died at the age of 71, was one of the political survivors.
His career as a Republican senator has served as a meaningful barometer for the dramatically changing climate in his political party and in America under Donald Trump.
While there are some issues central to Graham’s political identity—including a hawkish foreign policy focused on containing Russia’s global ambitions, support for Israel, and regime change in Iran—his 23-year career in the Senate has been marked by a willingness to adapt to the violent shift in political winds that has accompanied Trump’s rise to power.
Shortly after Graham was elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002, he became a close ally of Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who, while a staunch conservative, had developed a national reputation for political independence.
When Graham ran for president in 2015, the idea of easing partisan tensions and working with political rivals was one of his key messages.
“If I become president, we will open a bar in the White House,” Graham said. “We’ll have drinks and solve problems.”
Trump became angry when he criticized war hero McCain for being a prisoner of war and the New York real estate mogul said at a campaign event: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” Graham called Trump a “idiot” who should not be president.
Trump later read out Graham’s phone number at a rally, which inundated the senator with angry calls and texts.
In response, Graham destroyed a collection of cell phones in a stunt video.
