Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has represented South Carolina for over three decades and was a key ally of President Donald Trump, died on Saturday night, his office confirmed in a statement early Sunday morning.
Graham was 71.
His office described the cause of death as “a brief and sudden illness.”
Although Graham supposedly switched from constantly slamming Trump to being a ‘staunch ally’, he had a tendency to flip like a pancake:
………..First elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994 and to the Senate in 2002, Graham was a foreign policy hawk. He sought the 2016 Republican nomination for presidency and during that election campaign described Trump as “a nut job and a jackass”. He told CNN: “You know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell… He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”
………..Graham worked with Obama on climate change legislation and immigration reform, becoming a scourge of the Tea Party, whose members labelled him a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only). Graham was unabashed, telling The New York Times that he wanted to see a Republican leader who, like Ronald Reagan, “can attract Democrats”. But whereas McCain emerged as a leading Republican dissenter during Donald Trump’s first presidency before his death in 2018, Graham’s moral compass appeared to change direction. Finding himself on the wrong side of American popular opinion, he performed one of the most abrupt U-turns in political history. He and Trump began playing golf, speaking frequently on the phone and singing from the same political hymn sheet.
Where once Graham had spoken out against Trump’s agenda of building a wall, he now advocated a wall; having opposed revoking birthright citizenship, he now insisted that he had “always” supported restricting the citizenship rights of immigrants’ children; and where he had defended the independence of the judiciary, including Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, he now wanted an investigation into anti-Trump bias in Mueller’s team.
……..Graham’s chameleon-like shifts in loyalty are legendary. Before McCain’s passing, he blasted Trump as unfit for office. But post-2017, he cozied up to the 45th president, only to stab him in the back on key issues like January 6 prosecutions and blocking Trump-friendly appointments.
……..His career reeks of shadow donors from arms manufacturers and foreign influencers, ensuring his undying support for interventionist policies that drain U.S. taxpayers dry. Take his rabid push for Ukraine aid: despite American war fatigue, Graham jets to Kyiv demanding billions more for a conflict that’s not ours.
…….Even in 2025, Graham’s flip-flops continue. He initially criticized Trump’s Secretary of War (also known as the Defense secretary) pick, Pete Hegseth. Senator Graham spread allegations of Hegseth’s sexual misconduct and alcohol addiction based on anonymous sources, only to pivot and back him — suspiciously dismissing whistleblowers. Social media users aren’t buying it, labeling him a “known liar” controlled by intelligence agencies and foreign powers.
Graham also applauded the maltreatment of Biden’s political prisoners.
He was a spinless vacillating crapweasel who’s moral and ethical compass spun like a top. He was never a solid conservative America First Republican. When he realized that 77 million Americans fully support President Trump’s MAGA policies, he ran back to the base.
Whoever fills his seat in the Senate should be the MAGA Republican Graham was not.