Longtime U.S. Republican senator Lindsey Graham has died after a “short and sudden” illness, his office announced.
The 71-year-old politician, who became a close aide to President Donald Trump, represents the US state of South Carolina and was seeking reelection in the November midterm elections.
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“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest men and senators I have ever known, has passed away!” Trump posted on his social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working and a true American patriot. Lindsey will be sorely missed!!!”
Known for his hawkish defense and foreign policy views, Graham strongly supported Ukraine and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory in its war with Russia. He also called for “regime change” in Iran and supported military strikes against the country by the United States and Israel.
Therefore, Graham’s actions and public statements made him a controversial politician not only in the United States but around the world.
Here’s what we know:
support for israel
In his staunch support for Israel, Graham made a number of controversial statements.
In 2017, the year before the first Trump administration moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Graham signed a resolution supporting the move and calling Jerusalem “the undisputed capital of Israel.”
“Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem is consistent with any peace plan. It is consistent with the reality, as I and many others understand, that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem,” he said.
The US move to relocate the embassy was heavily criticized by the Palestinians and several Gulf states.
Graham also supported Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. In July 2024, as protests demanding an end to the war raged around the world, including the United States, he made controversial anti-Palestinian comments on social media.
“Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalized population on earth, taught from birth to hate Jews. It will take years to solve this problem,” Graham said in a post on X.
“When I hear ‘From the River to the Sea,’ I think of ‘The Final Solution.’ Hamas terrorists are the SS on steroids,” he added, drawing a comparison to the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS).
Mr. Graham also suggested that Israel would be justified in using nuclear weapons in the Gaza Strip. Despite signing a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in October, Israeli attacks have not stopped in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
“Give Israel what it needs to fight a war it cannot lose. This is a fortified Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense said on Sunday it was saddened by the death of Graham, who “supported Israel during its most difficult times.”
Supports US and Israel’s war against Iran
The US senator also supported the US-Israel war against Iran.
Shortly after the Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Mr. Graham said it was worth spending money to “bring down this regime.”
“If this regime falls, there will be a new Middle East and there will be a lot of money to be made,” Graham, a longtime supporter of U.S. military intervention abroad, told Fox News Network.
“This regime is on the brink of death right now. It will bow down and collapse. And when it does, we will have peace like never before and we will have prosperity like no one could have ever imagined,” Graham said.
In the weeks before the latest war against Iran began, Mr. Graham made a number of trips to Israel to meet with members of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
“They will tell me things that our government won’t tell me,” he said.
During those trips, Graham also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “gave him guidance on how to urge the president to take action,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. senator then claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu presented information that “persuaded” President Trump to launch a joint war against Iran.
In response to U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran has attacked U.S. assets in Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Mr. Graham recently called on the UAE and Saudi Arabia to launch attacks on Iran.
“I want them to join the fight. We are selling them weapons. Iran is attacking their country. They have superior capabilities,” he said.
Last week, Mr. Graham criticized Saudi Arabia for not joining the war against Iran.
“Americans are dying and America is spending billions of dollars to eliminate the terrorist Iranian regime that threatens the region. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is issuing statements and seemingly doing things behind the scenes that are barely useful,” he posted on X.
“I hope the Gulf Cooperation Council countries get more involved because this fight is being fought in their own backyard. If they’re not willing to use the military now, when are they going to use it?”
Supporters of the North African Gulf War
In addition to Iran, Mr. Graham also supported U.S. military intervention in the Gulf and North Africa over the past two decades, including the disastrous 2003 Iraq war that devastated Arab countries.
More than 270,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed as a direct result of the war. US troops partially withdrew in 2009, but some remained to train Iraqi security forces.
Mr. Graham also supported U.S. military intervention in Syria and Libya.
Divided Libya is ruled by two competing factions, but Syria’s interim government has recently been able to expand its control over large parts of the country under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In Syria, long-time President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, and the transition to a new government is underway. The Syrian civil war has killed more than 300,000 people, displaced about half of the country’s pre-war population, and sparked a refugee crisis that has reached Europe.
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Mr. Graham was one of the strongest advocates in Congress for military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
On the Saturday evening before his death, he had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev. “This is already the president’s 10th visit to our country, and I am grateful for this support,” Zelenskiy wrote in X magazine.
Russia placed Graham on its wanted list in March 2023, according to Russian media reports citing the Interior Ministry. Russia’s move came after the Ukrainian president’s office released an edited video of the meeting between Graham and Zelensky, in which the senator said “the Russians are dying” and that U.S. aid to Ukraine was “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
Mr. Graham responded to Russia’s move as follows: He will wear the “arrest warrant” as a “badge of honor.”
“I feel great joy knowing that my involvement in Ukraine has angered the regime of President Vladimir Putin,” he wrote, challenging Russian authorities to pursue the case at the International Criminal Court, which has already issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest.
“Now make your best case,” Graham quipped. “See you in The Hague!”
From Trump critic to supporter
Mr. Graham has supported the U.S. president’s recent international policies, but not long ago he was critical of Mr. Trump.
In 2015, when Graham himself was seeking the Republican presidential nomination, he famously denounced Trump as a “racist, xenophobic” bigot and “idiot.”
When Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States during the presidential campaign, Graham told reporters, “If we nominate him, we’re going to be destroyed…and we deserve it.”
But the two later developed a close political and personal relationship, becoming frequent golfing partners and close friends.
After meeting with President Trump in March 2017, Graham posted on X that “President Trump is strongly committed to rebuilding the military and that is music to my ears.”
Since then, until his death on Saturday, Mr. Graham supported policies such as U.S. military intervention in the Gulf, high tariffs on countries supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, and controversial domestic policies on immigration.
Asked in February by NBC News how he maintains his relationship with Trump, Graham replied, “Well, one thing is to entertain him in a reasonable way. We play golf. And I understand what a great president he was.”
“Sometimes we disagree,” he said. “You know what we have in common? I like him and he likes him.”
