‘Mr President, you’re not far behind God’: Lindsey Graham in his own words

Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who died on Saturday night, unexpectedly at the age of 71, was a politician who more than many illustrated the changing face of the Republican party in the age of Donald Trump.

A former House member, Graham sat in the Senate from 2003 as a foreign policy hawk and a close friend and ally of John McCain, the relatively socially liberal Arizona senator who became the party’s presidential nominee in 2008.

Mounting his own run in 2015, Graham presented himself as an anti-Trump voice, colorfully denouncing his rival as a far-right threat. Graham didn’t vote for Trump (backing independent Evan McMullin instead) but once Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and even after Trump abused McCain both before and after his death, Graham worked his way into Trump’s inner circle. Another estrangement, over January 6 and Trump’s attempted election subversion, lasted an even shorter time. Back onside and on the golf course with Trump, Graham became a vociferous supporter of Trump’s war with Iran.

Here’s a taste of how Graham described his political journey.

On his childhood in the Sanitary Café, his parents’ bar

“I would strut around the place, sometimes dressed as a cowboy – hat, vest and plastic six shooters. I might get up on the bar and walk up and down it while talking to folks. When customers went to the restroom, I might steal their beer and chug it. I might smoke their cigarette, too, if they left it burning in the ashtray. Those were antics that earned me the nickname, ‘Stinkball’, which everyone in the bar except my parents called me.”

• My Story, 17 June 2015

“I was the center of attention at that bar.”

• Washington Post, 5 October 2018

On his role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton

“Some people have said, ‘I won’t vote for impeachment.’ Some House members have said, ‘I will not vote for an impeachment.’ Let me tell you, please don’t say that until you understand what you’re voting on.”

• Press conference, 20 November 1998

To House Democrats seeking the first impeachment of Trump

“The process you’re engaging in regarding the attempted impeachment of President Trump is out of bounds. It’s inconsistent with due process as we know it. It’s a Star Chamber-type inquiry, and it’s a substantial deviation from what the House has done in the past regarding impeachment of other presidents.”

• Press conference, 24 October 2019

On Trump as presidential candidate

“He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party.”

• CNN, 8 December 2015

“I don’t think he has a clue about anything. He’s just trying to get his numbers up and get the biggest reaction he can.”

• CNN, 8 December 2015

“He’s never served. Going to a military high school, Donald, is really not military service. You’ve never worn the uniform. You’ve never been on a forward operating base.”

• CNN, 8 December 2015

“You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”

• CNN, 8 December 2015

“He’s just generally a loser as a person and a candidate. You can’t nominate a nutjob and lose, and expect it doesn’t have consequences.”

• Press gaggle, 25 February 2016

“What I see is a demagogue, somebody that has solutions that will never work, that is playing on people’s prejudices and the dark side of politics.”

• To CBS News, 2 March 2016

“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”

• Social media, 3 May 2016

“He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s from New York. He obviously can take a punch.”

• Press gaggle, 12 May 2016

“I would like to support our nominee, I just can’t.”

• To MSNBC, 2 June 2016

On Trump as president

“I went from, ‘OK, he’s president’ to ‘How can I get to be in his orbit?’ to ‘How can I have a say in what’s going to happen today, tomorrow and next week?’ 

• New York Times, 25 February 2019

“I personally like him. We play golf. He’s very nice to me.”

• New York Times, 25 February 2019

“I have never been called this much by a president in my life. It’s weird, and it’s flattering, and it creates some opportunity. It also creates some pressure.”

• New York Times, 25 February 2019

On Trump and January 6

“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.”

• Congress, 6 January 2021

“Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no. I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”

• Fox News, 6 May 2021

On having Trump’s endorsement

“Mr President, you’re not far behind God.”

• South Carolina, 10 June 2026

Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham in January 2023. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

On John McCain

“He had a romantic view of our nation to his last breath. Literally almost the last thing he said to me was ‘I love you. I have not been cheated.’ He was not cheated.”

• NBC, 28 August 2018

“What I miss was the collaboration. It was a political marriage.”

• New York Times, 25 February 2019

“It bothers me greatly when the president says things about John McCain. It pisses me off to no end, and I’ll let the president know it. The way he’s handled the passing of John just was disturbing. We finally got it right. I am not going to give up on the idea of working with this president. The best way I can honor John McCain is help my country.”

• CBS, 30 August 2018

“I’m not living my life going forward around John McCain.”

• Washington Post, 5 October 2018

On his friendship with Joe Biden and investigations of Hunter Biden

“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met in politics. As good a man as God ever created.”

• Huffington Post, 2 July 2015

“My friendship with Joe Biden, if it can’t withstand me doing my job, then it’s not the friendship I thought we had.”

• Fox News, 25 November 2019

On Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman

“This guy is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey, and to expect me to ignore it, I feel used and abused … The MBS figure is to me toxic. He can never be a world leader on the world stage.”

• Fox & Friends, 16 October 2018

“I have come to know the Crown Prince over the last five years, and remain impressed by his vision for his country and the region … The Crown Prince’s vision is not only great for South Carolina, it’s great for the United States and the civilized world. For this to be a reality, the region cannot be controlled by the forces of darkness who seek an oppressive future for their own populations.”

• Social media, 19 February 2026

On Brett Kavanaugh and the supreme court

“If you wanted a FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that, not me. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”

“When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”

“You’re supposed to be Bill Cosby when you’re a junior and senior in high school. And all of a sudden, you got over it. It’s been my understanding that if you drug women and rape them for two years in high school, you probably don’t stop.”

• Senate hearing 17 Sept 2018

On Iran, and his support for Israel

“The simple question is, do we have a president who understands who the Iranians are?” he said about the Iran arms deal. “Obama is dangerously naive about the Mideast. This decision is the biggest mistake any president of the United States could make. The Iranians are not wanting to become one of the family of nations.”

• Boston Herald, 14 July 2015

“The Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalised population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth. It will take years to fix this problem,”

• Post on X, July 2024

“If the radical cleric in Iran had a nuclear weapon, he would use it just as certainly as Hitler were to use it. He would kill all the Jews, and we’re next,” Graham said Monday. “I’ll put my efforts to make sure the military has what they need to win the wars we’re in, ahead of anybody in the United States Senate.”

• AP, March 2026, AP

“If Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them. So, to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz.”

• CBS Face the Nation, 21 June 2026