Lindsey Graham was booked for the Sunday morning politics shows. Trump paid tribute to him instead
President Donald Trump appeared Sunday on NBC'sMeet the Pressas well as CNN'sState of the Uniontopay tribute to Senator Lindsey Grahamafter the South Carolina Republicandied unexpectedly late Saturday. The. . .
President Donald Trump appeared Sunday on NBC'sMeet the Pressas well as CNN'sState of the Uniontopay tribute to Senator Lindsey Grahamafter the South Carolina Republicandied unexpectedly late Saturday. The president made thelast-minute arrangementto call into the program after Graham'sdeath was announcedjust after 2 a. m. Sunday. Graham was originally slated to appear as one of the program's guests this week, and made frequent appearances on the show over the decades. NBC's Kristen Welker, the program's moderator, noted that it was to be Graham's 64th appearance on the show Sunday. Trump told Welker that he'd spoken with Graham only hours before the senator's death was relayed to his office shortly after 1:00 a. m. The two spoke about Trump's top priority on Capitol Hill, the SAVE America Act, which Trump said Graham was pushing "like crazy". The senator was just back in Washington after a trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. "It was like a member of the family to me, he was like a member of the family to me," the president said of the senator, adding he'd planned to possibly meet with Graham on Sunday. "It's very tough, actually. It's amazing. "Of his call with Graham, he added: "It was around the time — it couldn't have been much longer. It could have been his last call, I don't know. "Trump was "devastated" after hearing the news of Graham's death, said Meet The Press host Kristen Welker (AP)The president said Graham "sounded tired" on the call: "He actually said he was tired. " But Trump added that his overseas trip had rightfully sapped the senator's energy. Staffers for the 71-year-old lawmaker told NBC News that there were no indications that Graham was suffering from any kind of illness or medical issues before his death late Saturday evening. Trump went on to describe Graham as an icon of the Senate, loyal to him and a fierce advocate for his causes but able to work across the aisle when necessary to get legislation passed. Graham appeared on Meet the Press in March as the war in Iran was just beginning to get underway (NBC - Meet the Press)"He was such an advocate. If he wanted to get something. . . And, you know, he had a unique ability, he was able to deal with Democrats and Republicans. If I had a problem, a real problem, I wouldn't often ask, but if I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out," said Trump. "He was a great politician, actually. "Welker and Trump both noted how Graham "loved his work" and serving in the Senate, where Graham had been a member since 2003. "He was going to win his election, he was going to win it big. I endorsed him early," Trump said, joking that he told the senator: "If you didn't win, I don't think you could handle life. "Trump and Graham did not always have the rosiest of relationships, and at its lowest point the South Carolina Republican tearfully repudiated the president on the floor of the Senate in the hours after the January 6 attack on Congress in 2021. During an early 2025 appearance onMeet the Press, Graham condemned the president's decision to pardon hundreds of January 6 rioters. But their friendship was repaired, a development that was notable given the failure of other senators who wavered from Trump's side to return to his side. Graham won the president's endorsement ahead of his re-election fight in November, where he was matched up against Democratic candidate Annie Andrews. Two other Republican senators who broke from Trump after 2021, John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy, lost their respective primary fights after Trump endorsed against them this cycle. Graham would emerge in 2026 as Trump's strongest booster on the matter of foreign policy as the president first pursued a campaign of military strikes against small boats it claimed were carrying drugs in the Caribbean, then escalated to launch an operation to arrest Venezuela's president and launched a war with Iran, killing its Supreme Leader, in late February. During yet anotherMeet the Pressinterview in March, he clashed with Welker over whether the administration had adequatelyplanned its offensive against the Iranian government. On CNN, the president spoke withState of the Unionhost Jake Tapper, who invited Trump to sit down for his first extended interview with CNN in months. Trump and the network regularly clash, and the president has repeatedly berated the network's White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins during press gaggles in the White House and on Air Force One. Trump responded favorably to the invitation, then added: "We're trying to have CNN go in a normal path and we'll do that. " His statement appeared to refer to the acquisition of CNN's parent company by David Ellison, the billionaire owner of Paramount Skydance who has taken to transforming CBS News and its flagship60 Minutesprogram since taking over. "I'm on a normal path right here, sir," Tapper told the president. Welker, appearing ahead of her broadcast on theTodayshow in conversation with co-host Willie Geist, stated that Graham was likely to argue Sunday for increased military pressure on Iran during his appearance on her show. Graham was a fierce advocate of a wide-ranging conflict in Iran with the explicit aim of regime change and his appearance on Sunday came just days after the White House's 60-day ceasefire agreementwith Iran collapsedafter Iranian strikesagainst oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz last week. In past appearances Graham had made the case for further U. S. operations including the blockade or invasion of Kharg Island, a major hub for Iran's oil industry, as disputes over travel in the Strait of Hormuz continue.