by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Lindsey Graham, the influential U.S. senator from South Carolina, has died at the age of 71 following a brief and sudden illness.
His office said he passed away on Saturday evening, adding that Graham’s family “asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
A day before he died, Graham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday and reaffirmed his support for Ukraine.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 after serving four terms in the House of Representatives, the South Carolina Republican became one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy, national security, and judicial appointments, while also emerging as a key ally of President Donald J. Trump.
TRUMP PAYS TRIBUTE TO ALLY
Moments after learning of his death, Trump posted an emotional message on his Truth Social platform at 3:21 a.m. local time Sunday, expressing his sorrow over Graham’s passing.
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump wrote. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Before they became close allies, the pair had a complicated relationship spanning more than a decade.
Both Trump and Graham sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
FROM RIVALS TO CLOSE FRIENDS
During that turbulent campaign, Graham reportedly called Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot,” among other even less flattering terms.
He also warned that Trump would destroy the Republican Party.
Yet after Trump won the White House in 2016, the two held what they described as a reconciliation lunch in March 2017. By 2018, they had become close political allies and frequent golfing companions, according to those close to both men.
The relationship had deteriorated after Trump mocked the late Sen. John McCain, the decorated Vietnam War veteran and longtime friend of Graham.
MAGA RELATIONSHIP EVOLVED
As the Republican primary intensified, Graham also ridiculed Trump’s emerging Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
“You know how you make America great again?” Graham asked during an appearance on CNN. “Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”
Graham ended his own presidential campaign in December 2015 before rebuilding ties with Trump early in his first term.
Trump later said Graham had once been a “great enemy” but had become a “great friend.”
FOREIGN POLICY LEGACY REMEMBERED
“I really like Lindsey. Can you believe it? I never thought I’d say that, but I do,” Trump remarked.
Earlier this year, Graham was among the most outspoken supporters of Trump’s military action against Iran, making frequent television appearances calling for tougher measures against what he viewed as the Islamic regime in Tehran.
He also remained one of the Senate’s strongest advocates for Ukraine, repeatedly urging tougher sanctions against Russia and continued U.S. military support for Kyiv.
Graham will be remembered as one of the most recognizable Republican senators of his generation, whose influence on U.S. foreign policy and national security debates spanned more than two decades.
WORKING ON INTERIM SUCCESSION
Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.
Under South Carolina law, Governor Henry McMaster is expected to appoint an interim successor until voters choose a replacement in a special election.
Graham never married and had no children.
He is survived by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, whom he helped raise after their parents died just 15 months apart, leaving her orphaned at the age of 13.
Graham later became her legal guardian while completing college and beginning his U.S. Air Force service.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Police have detained a 36-year-old man accused of carrying out a series of Molotov cocktail attacks against churches in New York City.
Lindsey Graham, the influential U.S. senator from South Carolina, has died at the age of 71 following a brief and sudden illness.
A leading Christian advocate has urged greater protection for religious minorities in Pakistan after two young Christian men were shot dead while playing cricket in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province.
An elderly Serbian man was recovering in hospital from friction burns Friday after he was partially sucked out of a Ryanair aircraft when a cabin window failed shortly after takeoff during a flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, authorities confirmed.
The massive anti-Israel protest movement that swept Britain after Hamas’ October 7 attack has been driven largely by a coordinated and internationally financed network of activist organizations, according to a major new report presented Wednesday at the House of Lords.
Thousands of people gathered near Srebrenica on Saturday to mark the 31st anniversary of Europe’s worst single atrocity since World War Two.
Nigerian security forces have rescued dozens of schoolchildren and teachers nearly two months after they were abducted by suspected Boko Haram-linked Islamic militants, raising fresh concerns that Islamist extremists are expanding their reach into southwestern Nigeria, officials said.