One of the most powerful and recognizable politicians in the USA, the Republican Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, has passed away at the age of 71.
His death occurred on Saturday night, 11/7, after a brief and sudden illness, just hours before his scheduled appearance on the Sunday, 12/7 show "Meet the Press," as officially confirmed by his office in the early morning hours of Sunday.
Graham, a close political ally of President Donald Trump and a leading voice of the party on defense and international policy matters, had just returned from a highly sensitive trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, of which he was a fervent supporter, reaching a point where his final statement was a revelation concerning Russia and several states regarding an approved 500% tariff plan.
The final trip to Kyiv and the peace plan via Beijing
Lindsey Graham, who was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was preparing to run for a fifth six-year term this coming November, was in absolute political alertness.
He had just returned from Kyiv, where on Friday he had held a critical meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During this final trip of his, Lindsey Graham had made statements that caused a sensation, emphasizing that the path to ending the war and achieving peace in Ukraine passes more through Beijing than through Washington, Kyiv, or Moscow, due to the massive influence of China.
The fatal arrest inside his home and the mystery of the sudden illness
According to audio documents from police radios obtained by NBC News, emergency services responded to a call for cardiac arrest at the home of Lindsey Graham, which is located in the Capitol Hill area, on Saturday night.
Photos examined by the American network show paramedics transferring a person on a stretcher from the senator's residence toward a waiting ambulance, while police cars and fire engines had rushed to the scene.
The senator's family issued a statement asking citizens to pray for them and demanding respect for their privacy during this incredibly difficult period.
His political journey, the milestones of his path, the positions he passionately supported, but also the issues he opposed:
Lindsey Graham was a classic conservative of the American right on domestic issues and an aggressive "hawk" of foreign policy.
His political journey was full of intense turnarounds and was one of the most discussed in Washington, as it was characterized by sharp shifts, hard ideological battles, and an impressive transformation from an internal party critic of Donald Trump into his closest ally.
Before being elected to the Senate in 2003, he had served as a colonel in the US Air Force Reserve specializing in military law, a fact that shaped his profile as a "hawk" of American foreign policy.
Domestic politics: Hard conservative line
On issues of US domestic current affairs, Graham moved within the right wing, with some surprises in the past, however.
1) He supported the traditional right-wing agenda, namely reducing taxes for corporations, absolute freedom in gun ownership (2nd Amendment), and a complete ban on abortions at the federal level.
2) The judicial battle for Brett Kavanaugh (2018):
Perhaps his most intense moment in the Senate. During the eventful hearing of conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, who was accused of sexual assault, Graham exploded against the Democrats. His angry speech, where he denounced the process as "the most unethical sham I have ever seen," turned him into a hero of the American right.
3) Opponent of abortions:
He was consistently an opponent of abortions. In fact, after the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court, Graham proposed a federal law to ban abortions after 15 weeks of gestation throughout the US territory.
4) Immigration (The "open" window):
Although he gradually adopted the hard line of Trump on border security, in the past (in 2013) Graham was a member of the "Gang of Eight", a bipartisan group of senators that tried to pass a comprehensive immigration reform, which also included the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants. This position of his had provoked the anger of conservative voters at the time.
5) Progressive agenda of the Democrats
He fought with fury against the economic and social spending of the Biden administration, the green policies for climate change, and the efforts of the Democrats to restrict gun ownership.
The relationship with Donald Trump: From extreme opponent, a loyal ally
His stance toward Donald Trump constitutes the most characteristic milestone of his political transformation.
In 2016 he had sought the Republican nomination for the presidency and had launched fierce attacks against Donald Trump.
Sworn enemy (2015-2016)
During the internal party race for the Republican nomination in 2016, Graham had characterized Trump as a "race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot" and a "disaster for the party".
He had even stated publicly that he was not going to vote for him.
The most loyal ally of him and the "Magasphere" (2017 and after)
After the election of Trump, Graham made a 180-degree turn.
A decisive meeting they had back then, in 2017, intervened, and since then he was transformed into one of the most loyal and unwavering supporters of Donald Trump in Congress.
He became the man who played golf with him, his key advisor in Congress, and his defender in the impeachment proceedings initiated by the Democrats, the ultimate protector of Trump in Congress, supporting his economic policy, tariffs, and the selection of conservative judges.
Graham explained this turn later by saying that he wanted to have influence on the president to protect the foreign policy of the country.
Just last March, Donald Trump characterized him as his best friend and a man who stood by his side as few others did.
Foreign policy... the "hawk"
He was a loyal supporter of US "interventionism" internationally.
Starting his career as a military lawyer (a judge in the Air Force), this capacity defined his entire course.
He came into harsh conflict with younger Republican senators (such as Rand Paul), who demanded that America stop spending money on foreign wars and focus on its domestic problems.
1) He supported the armed forces and NATO
He always pushed for increasing the budget of the American Pentagon and tightening relations with allied countries against Russia and China.
2) Support for the post-September 11 wars
He stood by the side of President George W. Bush and warmly supported the military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
3) He allied with John McCain!
Together with the iconic Senator John McCain, they constituted the "Dioscuri" of American foreign policy.
They traveled together to war zones and pushed steadily for increased defense spending and a dynamic response to authoritarian regimes.
He argued that the US must have a military everywhere (Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria) to ensure its global dominance and protect democracy.
4) Unwavering ally of Israel and Ukraine:
He blindly supported military aid to Israel, while from 2022 he became one of the most ardent supporters of sending American weapons to Kyiv, even coming into conflict with the isolationist wing of his own party.
5) Ukraine
He was one of the most fanatical supporters of Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
He traveled regularly to Kyiv, pushed Congress for an unstoppable flow of billions of sophisticated and heavy weapons to Kyiv to defeat Russia, while he had provocatively stated that the American money spent on the elimination of the Russian army is "the best investment we ever made."
6) Israel
His support for Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu was blind and absolute.
After the attacks of October 7th, he gave a "green light" for total war in the Gaza Strip, stating that Israel must do "whatever it takes" without restrictions, while he consistently demanded military strikes against Iran.
The final war manifesto and the 500% tariffs
In one of his last and most resonant statements before he died, he revealed that the US Senate had reached a full agreement with the White House on a bill that provided for "crushing sanctions" against Russia.
This specific high-stakes plan, which also constitutes his political legacy, includes the imposition of devastating tariffs amounting to 500% against a series of countries that support Moscow, threatening to blow up the global economy.
Taiwan and Saudi Arabia
He was a warm supporter of Taiwan against the Chinese threat (he actively participated in the relevant Taiwan Caucus of the Senate). Also, despite criticism over human rights, he supported the strategic alliance of the US with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, considering him an essential buffer against Iran.
He fought with fury against Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, and the theocratic regime of Iran, calling for their overthrow or their complete economic and military isolation.
Graham and Greece
The stance of Lindsey Graham regarding Greece was determined mainly through the prism of NATO and security in the Eastern Mediterranean.
More generally, he had a positive view, not out of sentimentality, but because Athens implemented a stable pro-Western policy that perfectly served American interests in the region.
He considered Greece a "pillar of stability"
Graham saw Greece as an absolutely reliable, predictable, and strategic ally of the US.
Especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the granting of Greek bases (such as Alexandroupoli and Souda) for the needs of NATO, Graham publicly praised the role of the country in the energy and military security of Europe.
He had met personally with the Greek Prime Minister when he had led a large bipartisan delegation of American senators on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
In these contacts, he always expressed the satisfaction of Washington with the excellent level of Greek-American relations.
The "thorn" with Turkey
Here the stance of Graham was ambiguous and balanced on a tightrope.
On the one hand, as a classic "hawk", he was infuriated by the relations of Tayyip Erdogan with Russia (he was among the first to demand sanctions against Ankara for the purchase of the S-400 missiles) and participated in initiatives along with the philhellene Senator Bob Menendez.
On the other hand, however, he also participated in the "Congress for Turkish Relations" (Turkish Caucus), as he believed that Turkey is too large geographically for NATO to lose completely.
Lindsey Graham was a politician who started as a moderate Republican seeking bipartisan consensuses, but evolved into one of the toughest and most loyal "soldiers" of Trumpism, without, however, ever betraying his faith in the need for America to rule the world with its military power.
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