All posts tagged "lindsey graham"

Trump's 'nonsense' betrayed his late loyalist's last crusade: ex-GOP operative

A former Republican strategist blasted President Donald Trump and his "vandals" for betraying Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) last crusade with "nonsense."

During an episode of The Warning, Steve Schmidt talked about how Trump is "putting a great deal of money" into Russian President Vladimir Putin's pockets with the Iran war. Late senior Sen. Lindsey Graham had just come back from Ukraine and, as Schmidt noted, was ready to propose sanctions against Russia when he died.

"Lindsey Graham, a few hours before his death, was talking about his Russia sanctions bill," Schmidt said. "When Donald Trump launched his war with Iran, global oil prices spiked, putting a great deal of money into whose pocket? That's right, Vladimir Putin's pocket."

Graham was a loyal Trump ally, Schmidt noted as he blasted "the shallowness, the abject stupidity of MAGA policy and the MAGA senators who are celebrated in too many quarters as statesmen as opposed to imbeciles."

Schmidt didn't just go after Trump but also "Jared Kushner and his Abraham Accords, which are a disaster," and Kushner and "Steve Witkoff meddling around the world," calling it all "nonsense" that's leading to another war.

"They squeeze on the balloon, moving air around it in disruptive ways that are often, in the end, catastrophic," Schmidt said. "America losing a war to Iran means that there will be a bigger, more deadly war sometime in the next decade."

Speaking about the bigger war, Schmidt continued, "All of the seeds are being laid for it right now, today, as we speak, by the foolish men and women who have followed Trump to the edge of the abyss and over it."

Stephen Miller's tribute to Lindsey Graham on Fox News immediately blows up in his face

The internet mocked White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller after he told Fox News that politicians should serve for "love of the game" and "not for personal enrichment."

Miller was talking to conservative host Will Cain when he described the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his dedication and work ethic. The comment raised eyebrows after reports of President Donald Trump and his family raking in billions — between crypto schemes and defense technology investments — during the president's second administration.

"You want senators who love being a senator, who embrace what it means, who embrace the opportunity, who seek no personal enrichment," Miller said.

Social media commentators noted the remarks.

"With a straight face," user SMR_MD, who self-describes as a "burned out Chicago ER MD" with more than 13,000 followers, wrote on X.

"Personal enrichment is only for Republican presidents," Hemant Mehta, podcaster and political commentator, wrote on X.

"Allllllllllllllrighty then," the popular influencer account Spiro's Ghost wrote on X.

"Right, Trump has enriched the lives of Americans from sea to… HE’S MADE BILLIONS FROM CRYPTO SCAMS…shining sea," political commentator Chris Robinson wrote on X.

with a straight face https://t.co/FwARslPsiD
— SRM_MD (@srmduke87) July 13, 2026

Ardent MAGA loyalist named by journalist as potential Lindsey Graham replacement

A veteran politics reporter on Monday suggested who he believes could be the next person to seek the Senate vacancy left by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Scott MacFarlane, chief Washington correspondent for MeidasTouch, told CNN anchor Brianna Keilar that since Graham was facing re-election in November, questions have surfaced over who could replace him — floating 78-year-old Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has been loyal to President Donald Trump.

In the interim, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the senator's sister, to replace her brother after his unexpected death this weekend and serve the rest of his term through January 2027.

The process will now include a special primary election on August 11, according to The New York Times. Candidates can file for the vacant seat as soon as July 21.

MacFarlane suggested Wilson could be one of those potential candidates.

"I'm watching Joe Wilson, the 78-year-old Republican who has some of the same political alignments with the late Senator Graham," MacFarlane said. "He is also on the Armed Services Committee, known to be hawkish on military issues, he's a known quantity in South Carolina, been there a long time."

"A lot of people might know Joe Wilson outside of South Carolina as the person who famously yelled 'you lie' at then President Obama during the State of the Union address in 2009," MacFarlane added. "He also may have an easier time getting the support of Trump because it was Joe Wilson, Brianna, who authored the bill last year to put Trump's face on a new $250 piece of U.S. currency. It didn't pass but he may have cornered the market on Trump's alignment."

Scott MacFarlane says there’s a chance that Joe Wilson could be a possibility to replace Lindsey Graham: He also may have an easier time getting the support of Trump because it was Joe Wilson who authored the bill last year to put Trump's face on a new $250 piece of U.S. Currency pic.twitter.com/fA2UzHL2HJ
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 13, 2026

Lindsey Graham's sister appointed to fill vacant Senate seat

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) sister, to replace her brother after his unexpected death this weekend.

President Donald Trump had suggested that McMaster select her to serve the rest of her brother's term. By Monday afternoon, the announcement was made.

McMaster praised Graham for his service, calling him "this irresistible man, this irreplaceable man, this extraordinary man."

"It's my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now," McMaster added.

Graham helped raise his sister after the sudden death of their parents.

The longtime Republican lawmaker died Saturday night of an aortic dissection, a tear in the body's main artery. His office announced the death early Sunday.

Gov. McMaster announces that he's picking Lindsey Graham's sister to finish Graham's term pic.twitter.com/VulFz0iSJx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 13, 2026

Internet stunned as Trump skips Lindsey Graham tribute for race cars: 'Didn't mention him'

The internet was stunned Monday as President Donald Trump gave his first public speech since Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suddenly died — yet never mentioned the lawmaker once.

Trump was speaking about the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix Showcase at the White House in Washington, D.C., in which top racing drivers are expected to take on a course around the National Mall. He was surrounded by professional drivers and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.

The president had reacted to Graham's death on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, calling the Republican "one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known."

But political commentators noted that at the first live event, less than two days after the senator's shock death, Trump never mentioned his name.

"Trump just delivered his first speech after the death of his allegedly dear friend Lindsey Graham, which happened less than 48 hours ago. He didn't mention him once. RIP," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.

"He will again—when he tries to guilt Congress into passing The SAVE America Act in honor of Lindsey," Mason, an Iraq War veteran and political commentator, wrote on X.

"Trump only cares about one person, himself. A true narcissist," Vince Wilson, a liberal political commentator and YouTube personality, wrote on X.

"But Duffy ... gets 10 minutes," progressive commentator Bill Johnson wrote on X.

"So it's out of sight, out of mind for ol' Lindsey I guess," user Pere Jes, a self-described "music/politics junkie" with more than 15,000 followers, wrote on Bluesky.

Trans writer makes explosive allegations against Lindsey Graham

A transgender author and actress has alleged in a viral post that staunch anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaker Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had hired the writer for sex work, The Advocate reported on Monday.

Jesse James Rose, author of "Sorry I Keep Crying During Sex," wrote a three-slide post on Instagram detailing the accusations against Graham, who spent much of his long political career pushing back against civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community, transgender rights and gender-affirming care for people transitioning, according to The Advocate.

Graham, who died Saturday night, also opposed marriage equality, voted against workplace discrimination protections, and opposed the 2011 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the policy that mandated service members conceal their sexual orientation or face discharge.

"Most of you know him as the homophobic Senator from South Carolina but to me he will always be the man who paid a twinky pre-transition college student a fat stack of cash to do unspeakable things to him in a hotel room while he wore red lingerie," the writer posted.

"It is a canon trans event to have far right freaks bankrolling you & then turning around and voting against you."

Rumors about Graham's own sexuality surfaced throughout his life, Advocate reported. In 2018, he denied he was gay, responding after comedian Chelsea Handler trolled him on National Coming Out Day.

"The bitter irony of this record is that Graham spent much of his political career denying rumors and speculation about his own sexual orientation — a task that became more difficult in the social media age," according to the outlet.

Other allegations about his personal life have emerged in recent years.

"However, while Rose’s recent post following Graham’s death is one of the most direct instances of a queer person alleging that Graham had hired them for sex work, it isn’t the first," The Advocate reported.

"In 2020, porn performer Sean Harding posted online, implying that an unnamed Republican senator had hired multiple gay sex workers, including him. People connected the story to Graham based on the nickname 'Lady G,' a codename sex workers in D.C. allegedly used to refer to the South Carolina legislator. The nickname followed Graham for what would turn out to be the final years of his life."

Lindsey Graham dies after 'brief and sudden illness'

Longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died at the age of 71 on Saturday night from a "brief and sudden illness," his office announced.

"On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness," read the statement from his office. "Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period."

According to reporting by NBC News, police scanner audio revealed that emergency personnel responded to a call at Graham's Capitol Hill home on Saturday night for "cardiac arrest." NBC News noted that on Friday, Graham returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and was scheduled to appear on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Graham was first elected to the House in 1994 and then to the Senate in 2002. He had been running for re-election in the upcoming November midterms against Democrat Annie Andrews.

His death comes as concerns and speculation surround the condition of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Ex-GOP operative predicts stunning November defeat for 'deeply flawed' MAGA senator

A MAGA senator faces a competitive midterm race, according to a former GOP operative who expects him to lose.

In a recent episode of The Warning podcast, Steve Schmidt predicted that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will lose his seat to Annie Andrews, who was Schmidt's guest on the show.

"You're gonna win this race," Schmidt told Andrews. "This is a winnable race with a deeply flawed candidate in South Carolina who's never really been rooted to the state in the way that historically some South Carolina politicians have managed to do."

Schmidt credited Graham with having "political success in the way sometimes that a lucky surfer is able to get up on top of a wave, even when they don't necessarily deserve it," but he thinks that South Carolinians will refuse to re-elect him in the midterms, which are a few months away, because of his constant support for Trump.

"He's a sucker fish that lives off the detritus of the predator that swims around it," Schmidt said. "He attached himself to a vile, vicious shark named Trump, and now he's a remora on that vile creature, and that explains Lindsey Graham. He lives to have a piece of the action, but he has no attachment to the concept of service."

Adding that Graham is a "bottom feeder," Schmidt encouraged Andrews, telling her, "his number is due, and I think you're running a great campaign."

Andrews said that her campaign's latest poll showed her down "just three points" against Graham, giving her "a real shot to defeat him in November" and "a path to victory." Schmidt vouched for her polling numbers as "not being BS."

Read on Substack

Onlookers befuddled by Lindsey Graham's head-spinning praise of Trump's Iran deal

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put a baffling spin on Trump's Iran War deal, but he didn't get off scot-free.

Although details of Trump's Iran War deal remain murky, it's already being criticized for reportedly giving up a $300 billion reconstruction fund. Graham told reporters on Tuesday, however, what he believed the deal achieved.

"If this thing goes through, we've opened up the straits," the GOP senator said. "The war will be in a permanent ceasefire, and we'll try to get a nuclear deal with Iran."

On X, commentators dogged Graham as they pointed out that these achievements were what was already in place before Trump started the war.

"We've achieved opening the Strait that was open before the war that Trump lost," wrote Ben Rhodes, a former Obama foreign policy advisor and political writer.

"The big achievement of the war, according to Lindsey Graham, is that things will hopefully go back to the way they were before the war," MeidasTouch, a political news network, piled on.

"Trump started the fighting and is responsible for the closing of the Strait," agreed Norman Ornstein, a political scientist and contributing editor for The Atlantic. "So he is giving Iran tons of money, draining $50 billion or more from taxpayers, depleting our vital stocks, bloodshed from our military, oil, helium, and fertilizer prices up, to return to status quo ante."

"Not only were the straits open before Trump initiated combat operations, but the U.S. could have very likely prevented Iran from closing them & clearly was not able to/did not prioritize that part of mission," senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen wrote. "Now, Iran has demonstrated it can successfully close them."

GOP senators ready to pounce on Trump's Iran deal fall guy: analyst

Republican Senators sense an opportunity and are ready to attack Trump's Iran deal fall guy, a political analyst wrote.

Vice President JD Vance is stuck with explaining the Iran deal, and the GOP has no problem going after him, Joe Perticone wrote for The Bulwark.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pointed his finger at Vance and called him the "architect of the deal" with Iran in a recent post. The deal left Graham "concerned" and said it's "imperative" that Vance be a part of a review, the senator wrote.

The deal reportedly includes a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, reportedly financed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, but the Memorandum of Understanding laying out the conditions is still under wraps.

Republican senators are either propping Vance up "as integral to the process" of the deal or "claiming they haven't seen him address," Perticone wrote.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told a reporter that "somebody will need to" explain the deal, "whether it's the vice president—but for sure, our members are going to have a lot of questions about it," Perticone noted.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) likewise held Vance responsible for the deal, saying, "It sounds to me like for two months he's played a significant role," according to Perticone.

Other senators made their doubts about the Iran deal clear. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said, "I think they've got an MOU right now versus a treaty," according to Perticone.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told Perticone, "We'll have to see exactly what this is, but you would think it'd have to be ratified."