Lindsey Graham's only surviving family member said she was "kind of like devastated" as President Donald Trump publicly pushed her to fill her late brother's Senate seat.
Darline Graham Nordone, 62, of Lexington, South Carolina, was asked Monday about her reaction to the president's suggestion after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday night of an aortic dissection, a tear in the body's main artery. His office announced the death early Sunday.
About a day later, on Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had recommended Nordone to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) for the seat. McMaster has a 4 p.m. press conference scheduled to announce his pick.
"Actually, I'm just kind of like devastated right now," Nordone told the New York Post in a brief phone call Monday minutes after Trump's post went up.
Their parents died within 15 months of each other in the 1970s, leaving Darline orphaned at 13, according to the Post. Lindsey, then 22 and still in college, became her legal guardian. He later joined the Air Force and eventually used his military benefits to support her.
"He's always been there for me," Darline said in a video posted by Lindsey Graham's office. "No matter what."
Trump called his suggestion a tribute in his Truth Social post.
"This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!" he wrote.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who said he has known Darline "for years," backed the president's push.
"I have faith in Gov. McMaster that he will make the right decision, but I would support the president's recommendation," Wilson told the Post.
Darline would serve through Jan. 3, the end of Lindsey Graham's current term, according to FITSNews. A special primary is in the works for Aug. 11 to replace him on the November ballot, FITSNews reported.
Lindsey Graham often said his proudest achievement had nothing to do with the Senate. In a 2015 interview with C-SPAN, he reflected on his sister's life.
"Of all the things that have happened in my life, her turning out so well is the highlight of it by far," Lindsey Graham told C-SPAN, per the Post.
