Anthony Zurcher: From Trump critic to ally, Lindsey Graham was a political survivor of the Maga era

Summary

Lindsey Graham, who has died aged 71, was a political survivor. While there were certain issues central to Graham's political identity – including a hawkish foreign policy that focused on containing Russian global ambitions, support for Israel and regime change in Iran – his 23-year career in the Senate was marked by a willingness to adapt to the gale-force change of political winds that accompanied Trump's rise to power. Shortly after being elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002, Graham became a close ally of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who, while a staunch conservative, developed a national reputation for political independence. When Trump picked Brett Kavanaugh to be his second Supreme Court appointment, Graham angrily condemned allegations of sexual assault made against the nominee, who denied wrongdoing. Graham broke with Trump, however, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden – a former Senate friend of Graham's who he once called "the nicest person I've ever met in politics". He voted to acquit Trump of impeachment charges in his February 2021 Senate trial. While he publicly called for greater US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, he tempered his criticism of Trump's overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin and declined to push new sanctions against the nation without the president's explicit approval. Despite Graham's close ties with the president, he continued to maintain friendships with his Democratic counterparts in the Senate, as evidenced the growing list of statements of condolences following his death – including from outspoken Trump critics like Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. "He was able to deal with Democrats," Trump said during a television interview on Sunday morning. While South Carolina is a reliably conservative state, if Trump's disapproval ratings remain high and Republicans continue to face strong political headwinds, they may have to commit more resources to defending what is now an open Senate seat.