President Donald Trump paid tribute to his longtime friend Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Monday, remembering him as a “great guy” whose passionate defense of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation fight helped change the course of history.
“He was a great guy, and he was a friend,” the president recalled on “Fox & Friends.”
“He would call me all the time. He would just, I’d say, ‘Stop calling me, Lindsey,’” he laughed. “It was just… amazing.”
Trump reflected on Graham, 71, as a “workaholic politician” whom “everybody” loved, regardless of their political leanings. He marveled at Graham’s ability to reach across the aisle and solve partisan problems.
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“If I had Democrat problems, he could solve them. He was a man of all different abilities, actually, and he was a nice man. He was a great guy…” he said.
“He was a man who had a lot of fun. He had fun with politics, but he was really good at it. And then, when he got angry, like he did in the case of Brett Kavanaugh, it was so impactful. I think it saved… Brett becoming a justice.”
Trump’s comment referenced Graham’s fervent remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasting what he called the “unethical sham” hearing involving Brett Kavanaugh, who was later confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Since Graham’s passing, many have highlighted his passionate defense of Kavanaugh as one of the defining moments of his political career.
“It was just a moment in time that the Democrats got so sick and so angry and so crazy… and Lindsey went on his tirade, and it was much more than a tirade. I think it was one of the great[est] 10 moments of Congress, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said.
“And he saved Brett from a very, very unfair decision, or they would have turned a man down who was so qualified and such a good man,” he added.
After focusing on Iran, the SAVE America Act and other pressing issues, the president closed out the segment by returning to Graham’s legacy.
“We lost a great man. He was a great man. He was a great politician, and he was a kind man,” he said.
“And you know who really lost? Israel, Ukraine, a lot of countries that he really fought for. And they lost somebody who was very special. But the real loser was the United States of America. We lost a great person, a kind person, very smart person.”
Graham’s legacy became central to the national conversation following his unexpected death late Saturday. Tributes poured in from lawmakers and media personalities, with both allies and adversaries offering condolences and messages of support to Graham’s family.
Graham’s death was initially reported to have followed a “brief and sudden illness.”
A statement released by Graham’s office on Sunday cited preliminary findings from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, identifying the cause of death as an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Fox News’ Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.
