Lindsey Graham collapsed and died after cellphone name with former nemesis Donald Trump
US Senator Lindsey Graham died on Saturday night after suddenly falling ill. The former Trump critic turned ally had only returned from Ukraine the previous day
Donald Trump has paid tribute to Lindsey Graham following his sudden death
One of Donald Trump’s closest hardline allies died after a “brief and sudden” illness shortly after talking to the President on the phone.
Controversial Senator Lindsey Graham, 71, was a staunch Trump supporter despite initially dismissed him as a “jackass” and a “race-baiting bigot”. In retaliation, Trump read out his phone number to a rally during the 2016 Presidential election campaign.
But the pair later resolved their differences and Graham was one of the US President’s most vocal supporters over the war in Iran. The former air force reserve colonel was recently described as a “war hungry dude” who had Trump’s ear by a former ally.
The US President revealed he had spoken to golfing buddy Graham shortly before his unexpected death on Saturday, telling him: “Come over anytime you want.” The Senator had returned from a visit to Ukraine which saw him meet President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
He was renowned for calling for US intervention overseas and for being outspoken on defence. Earlier this year former Republican congressman Joe Walsh said: “We’re talking about a guy who, if he could, would have American troops everywhere on the planet engaged in some sort of a war. He’s a war-hungry dude and he’s got Trump’s ear.”
Graham, who led both the Senate Budget and Judiciary committees, said last month that the US would “obliterate” Iran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The South Carolina senator, who had served since 2002, was a fierce critic of Trump before he was elected President the first time.
He warned in 2015: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.” The feud thawed while he was in office, but following the January 6 insurrection in 2021, Graham said: “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way.
“All I can say is a count me out. Enough is enough.” They buried the hatchet again though, and the US President said on Sunday he was like a member of the family. “It’s very tough,” he said after his death.
Mr Zelensky said: “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.” And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sid: “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
He is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest in his Capitol Hill home shortly after speaking to Trump on the phone. He had been set to appear on NBC News’ Meet the Press show on Sunday, and staffers told US media there was no indication he was ill before his death.
