Graham Crackers: The Words of a Professional Warmonger
Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press. (Screen capture from video posted to X.)
Lindsey Graham said he would die with Israel and it has come to pass. One of the weirdest characters in US politics, Graham’s career was consistent in only one respect: war was his solution to any diplomatic problem. He had the mentality of a red-scare Cold Warrior in a time when the Cold War had ended. But Graham couldn’t relinquish his toxic animus for Russia, even as Russia embraced US-style gangster capitalism, imperialist ambitions and religious prudery. As a political figure, Graham was a senator in search of a father figure. First, he latched on to John McCain, almost to the point of slavish mimicry. But McCain at least enjoyed the appearance of independence, occasionally bucking his own party (largely because he craved the media spotlight that came with a performative “maverick”) and had a perverse sense of humor, even if his barbs were usually at the expense of a rival.
Graham seemed lonely and lost after McCain’s death, uncomfortable in his own skin. He inherited McCain’s seat on the Sunday talk shows. But he had none of McCain’s crusty charisma. Instead, Graham hectored and scolded and whined and pouted. But he was humorless and abrasive. His only rhetorical talent was for invective. Graham’s media appearances came off as bombast with a bullhorn. His voice evinced none of the seductive qualities of the southern gentility, in whose political raiment he attempted to adorn himself. Graham’s voice, especially when excited, had a shrill, shrieking-like quality that often verged on hysteria. His speeches alienated, even frightened, more than they persuaded.
Like many professional attack dogs, Graham needed a master; he had neither the guts nor the intellect to chart his own course or to build new coalitions. So he transferred his loyalty from McCain to the man McCain hated more than any other: Donald Trump. Graham willingly swallowed Trump’s insults like daily doses of cod liver oil. He renounced his moderate positions on trade, abortion, campaign finance reform, immigration and climate change to be in sync with his new skipper. But like most sycophants, Graham couldn’t be trusted, not even by those at whose feet he bent the knee.
Graham once declared it was patriotic for Americans to cheat on their taxes. Of course, he’d’ve been the first one to jail, and probably torture, war tax resisters. A few months ago, Graham said he “felt good” about where the country was heading under Trump: “We’re killing all the right people and cutting your taxes.” This is a pretty concise description of the American imperial project since the Spanish-American War. Graham’s enduring legacy will be that of a blood-thirsty sycophant, willing to jettison any values and self-worth he once professed to be invited into the anterooms of power and receive a few patronizing pats on the head.
Ultimately, Lindsey Graham will go down as an inconsequential figure in American history, a bloodthirsty cheerleader for some of the nation’s most disastrous wars who lacked the courage to stand up for the few convictions he once held. To paraphrase Henry Kissinger on Bill Clinton being called a war criminal, “Lindsey Graham doesn’t have the moral fortitude to be consigned to the 9th Circle of Hell with the A-listers.” He’ll have to settle for some more obscure region of eternal torment, where nobody will even recall his name.
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“Free speech is a great idea, but we’re in a war.”
“Today, I’m 60, I’m not married, I don’t have any kids.”
“It’s really American to avoid paying your taxes, legally.”
“I don’t blame anybody for using the tax code to their advantage.”
“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed, and we will deserve it.”
“[Trump] He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. But he doesn’t represent my party.”
“I don’t like what he says about John McCain. But when we play golf, it’s fun.”
“If you don’t like me being the president’s friend, you’re probably not going to like me.”
“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.”
“What Cruz and others are doing is going to make sure that another 9/11 happens.”
“If we can convince the American people to provide assistance and prevent abortions at the 20th week, nothing bad is going to happen. Good things will happen.”
On Trump and Cruz: “It’s like being shot or poisoned,” Graham said at a Capitol Hill press conference in January. “What does it matter?”
“Finally, a president willing to take on this absurd policy of birthright citizenship.”
+ On Trump’s impeachment trial: “I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.”
+ “If there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets.”
+ On Matt Gaetz: “I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I’ve seen this movie before.”
+ On Pete Hegseth: “The allegations against Pete are from anonymous sources. I’m not going to make any decisions based on an anonymous source. If you’re not willing to raise your hand under oath and make the accusation, it doesn’t count. I’ve heard everything about these people. None of it counts. No rumors, no innuendo.”
+ “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”
+ “To young people out there, young people of color, young immigrants, this is a great state, but one thing I can say without any doubt, you can be an African American and go to the Senate, but you just have to share our values. If you’re a young, African American or an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state; you just need to be conservative, not liberal.”
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+ “Do not give the terrorists, the enemy combatants, the people who blow up folks at weddings, who fly airplanes into the twin towers, the ability to sue our own troops all over the country for any and everything.”
+ “President Bush has shown great leadership. He has said that the 21st century will not be ruled or dictated by terrorists, dictators or murderers. He’s absolutely right. God bless him for his resolve.”
+ “I think the worst thing in the world is to have the courts decide who to target in the war on terrorism. And courts are not military commanders.”
+ “The worst nightmare in the world is a radical Islamic regime with a weapon of mass destruction.”
+ “I think our nation’s at war with radical Islam. The primary goal of these groups is to attack our nation. Washington’s a prime target.”
+ “Whether you’re the wedding cake baker or the gay couple or the Baptist preacher, radical Islam would kill you all if they could.”
+ “I intend to make America strong again. I’m going to be the champion of the middle class, where I came from. If you make me your president, our best days are ahead. I’m ready to be commander-in-chief, ladies and gentlemen, on day one. I intend to win a war that we cannot afford to lose.”
+ “Philanthropy is lost. The human spirit is suppressed. Most people want a legacy; they want to give something back, a library, a hospital wing, a donation to their church. This is a form of socialism that must go.”
+ “The Lindsey Graham via foreign policy is going to beat Rand Paul’s libertarian view of foreign policy. It will beat Barack Obama’s view of foreign policy. It will beat Hillary Clinton’s view of foreign policy.”
+ “Well, the big elephant in the whole system is the baby boomer generation that marches through like a herd of elephants. And we began to retire in 2008.”
+ “I think most Americans understand that radical Islam can’t be compromised with or appeased. And the only way we can be safe is to form partnerships over there that will protect us over here.”
+ “We cannot win this war on terror if people are undercutting us. And one way to undercut us is to empower Iran.”
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+ “If ‘Obamacare’ becomes fully implemented in 2014, it’s going to bankrupt states.”
+ “If Barack Obama cannot appreciate that our troops are winning in Iraq, he should not be their Commander in Chief.”
+ “President Obama chose politics over leadership. ‘Hope’ and ‘Change’ have become bait-and-switch.”
+ “I’m running because I think the world is falling apart.”
+ “I would love to have a good deal to end the nuclear ambitions of the Iranians, but I don’t trust the Iranians. They’ve been lying and cheating.”
+ “I’m the ranking Republican on the foreign aid appropriations subcommittee, so I know Tunisia well.”
+ “We will never win this war until we understand the effect that Guantanamo Bay has had on the overall war effort. And we’ll never get the support of the American people if we can’t prove to them that these folks that we’re dealing with are not common criminals. We’re going to keep them – keep you safe from them.”
+ “You want to see a war on women? Come with me to Iraq and Afghanistan, folks. I’ve been there 35 times. I will show you what they do to women.”
+ “The Afghan security forces will always have the help of the U.S. American military to ensure that Afghanistan never fails.”
+ “This idea of holding the Defense Department hostage to the tax debate makes me sick to my stomach. Knock it off.”
+ “And here’s the first thing I would do if I were president of the United States. I wouldn’t let Congress leave town until we fix this [reducing Pentagon budget]. I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to. We’re not leaving town until we restore these defense cuts. We are not leaving town until we restore the intel cuts.”
+ “We have never seen more threats against our nation and its citizens than we do today.”
+ “We have gutted our ability to detect the next attack.”
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+ “The Prime Minister [Netanyahu] convinced me that Israel is developing weapons that will change the future of warfare. They would love to partner with the United States, which is the most important form of aid we could ever give them and the most important event that would provide security to both countries.
+ “Moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem is not inconsistent with any peace proposal. It is consistent with the reality – as I and many others understand it – that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem,”
+ “The Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalized population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth. It will take years to fix this problem.”
+ “When I hear ‘From the river to the sea,’ it reminds me of the ‘Final Solution.’ The Hamas terrorists are the SS on steroids.”
+ “Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.”
+ “I’m tired of the word ‘genocide’… if Israel desired to commit genocide, they possess the means but choose not to.”
+ On Mossad: “They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me.”
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+ “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service. The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.”
+ “The Russians are dying…Best money we’ve ever spent.”
+ “To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy.”
+ “To the Russian people: Putin is leading you into the abyss. Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers killed and wounded. An economy smaller than Italy’s in volume, with pressure approaching. Russia is isolated like never before. This does not make Russia great; it makes it a rogue state.”
+ “They [Ukraine] just need weapons to free their country of a terrible invasion. They’re sitting on a trillion dollars’ worth of minerals that could be good to our economy. So I want to keep helping our friends in Ukraine. We can win this. They need our help.”
+ “Ukraine isn’t the problem. Russia is the problem.”
+ “Iran is part of the problem, not the solution. And the Russian government is ignoring reality.”
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+ “Everything I know about the Iranians I learned at the pool room. I met a lot of liars, and I know the Iranians are lying.”
+ “After announcing he was going to take a genetic test, Graham told Fox News: “I’ll probably be Iranian. That’d be, like, terrible.”
+ “If Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them. So, to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz.”
+ “Americans are dying and the U.S. is spending billions to dislodge the terrorist Iranian regime that threatens the region. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia seems to be issuing statements and doing things in the background that are marginally helpful, but unwilling to participate in military operations to end the reign of terror coming out of Iran. Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard,” he went on. “If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
+ “When this [Iran] regime goes down, we are going to have a new Middle East, and we are going to make a ton of money.”
+ “This regime is in a death throe now; it is gonna be on its knees, it’s going to fall, and when it falls, we’re going to have peace like no other time, we’re going to have prosperity unlike anyone could ever imagine.”
+ “I feel good about where we’re going as a nation. We’re killing all the right people and cutting your taxes.”
+ “Without a credible threat of the use of military force, nothing changes in Venezuela.”
+ “Cuba’s next.”
+ “I will be with Israel to my dying day.”
David Rothkopf
Sun, July 12, 2026
DAILY BEAST
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a bona fide monster, hailed Senator Lindsey Graham as a beacon of "moral clarity." Donald Trump, a man whose name is now synonymous with corruption and hatred, called Graham "a true American patriot."
Meanwhile Democrats in Washington, praised his warmth or recounted aspects of their friendship with him, calling him a "good man."
The disconnect reveals more about what is wrong with Washington, D.C., than it does about Graham.
Graham, dead at 71, is an avatar for the cozy corruption of Washington D.C. / Shannon Stapleton / REUTERS
The acceptance of those in the D.C. club of evil, because its proponents were pleasant to them at cocktail parties, is one of the greatest problems America faces. Morality, contrary to the assertion of Ben-Gvir, as profoundly immoral a man as any who currently walks the planet, takes a back seat in the Senate cloakroom, and at Georgetown cocktail parties, to the conviviality of the pampered lives in a bubble of D.C. insiders.
They have lost sight of the fact that an evil man who would laugh at their jokes or send them a note on the occasion of a child's wedding or graduation is still evil.
Lindsey Graham made himself the face of Trump sycophancy—but behind the scenes, his smooth shape-shifting was what really defined them man. / SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
Graham was a man who understood this and thrived in that environment. Few prominent figures in Washington have managed to be so public and yet such masters of personal opacity. He hid what he really felt or who he really was behind a career of offering strong but often contradictory statements to the media. (He understood the media does not seek consistency or hold you to past positions. Rather, it is just looking for a good quote with which to lead the next story or broadcast.)
That is how he could be the closest ally of both John McCain and Donald Trump, one of Trump's fiercest critics and one of his most dependable allies.
The chamelon-like Graham was both John McCain's best friend—seen here in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2008—and then Donald Trump's, despite being in the center of two men who loathed each other. / Dominick Reuter / REUTERSMore
It is how he could be widely believed to be a closeted gay man and at the same time an active supporter of stripping away LGBTQ rights. (He was a co-sponsor of the "Defense of Marriage Act" and voted against legislation that would have prohibited workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.)
He supported Ukraine in its battle with Russia but also backed Trump, a handmaiden of the Kremlin who undermined U.S. support for Kyiv throughout both of his terms as president. He would vote against Ukraine aid before voting for it. He would embrace Ukraine's president Volydmyr Zelensky before supporting Trump's attacks on him and calling for his resignation.
He regularly condemned the January 6 attacks but would often sidestep Trump's authorship of them and he argued Trump should not be impeached. He could condemn Trump one week and argue that the party could not live without him a month or two later.
I remember his regular condemnation of Trump during the 2016 campaign and was present at one party at which he stood up and mocked Trump saying that he, Graham, would be playing in the NBA before Trump was president. Perhaps his most famous quote on Trump was a Tweet in May of 2016. He wrote, "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…and we will deserve it."
A year after this Tweet, with Trump in the White House, Graham had become one of his most reliable sycophants. / Lindsey Graham/X
When he died Trump described him as being "like a member of the family."
There was perhaps more truth in that statement than mere hyperbole. Trump undoubtedly felt a kinship in Graham's willingness to switch positions for expediency's sake and to embrace completely contradictory viewpoints if he thought he could gain momentary benefit from a switch. While Trump may have balked on those few occasions when Graham demonstrated having a vestigial principle or two, he could certainly relate to the Senator's chameleon-like flexibility most of the time.
Trump eulogized Graham as someone he could turn to when he needed to reach out to Democrats.
This was undoubtedly the case because Graham understood the rules of the D.C. club so well that could schmooze at the home of a New York Times columnist where he would whisper gossip about Trump and then later in the week sit with MAGA stalwarts and plot Trump's next big move against American democracy. (He was a lawyer who was an enthusiastic supporter of the candidacy of Trump's personal anti-rule of law attack dog Todd Blanche to be Attorney General.)
I saw it with my own eyes. He was a master of the D.C. dance.
Listening to the "he was a good guy" laments of many Dems on television as the news of Graham's demise broke, you could see that his approach was effective. Trump might have called that "being a good politician." But it was something much more pernicious than that.
Graham got a eulogy from Trump, and Democrats rushed to offer a
"Good guys" do not advocate for evil, for the destruction of U.S. institutions, for stripping away the rights of Americans, for the most corrupt government in U.S. history, for allies of our enemies. You can't be a "good guy" and enable Trump as he brings our democracy to its knees, supports cruel policies, enables cuts to U.S. spending that have led to or will lead to the deaths of millions around the world. (He said he was a champion of "soft power" but he supported cuts of billions in foreign assistance including AIDS prevention programs.)
Enablers of evil in "good guy" clothing are every bit as bad as the Trumps or Stephen Millers who spew hate. The fact that they have figured out how to glide through D.C. while doing it only is testimony to how dangerous they can be.
That was Lindsey Graham. Not a study in contradictions so much as he was an opportunist who traded principle for power. Perhaps in that respect it is no wonder he fit in so well with so many in Washington.
‘Mr President, you’re not far behind God’: Lindsey Graham in his own words
Martin Pengelly in Washington
Sun, July 12, 2026
Lindsey Graham speaks to media a the US Capitol in January 2020.Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who died on Saturday night, unexpectedly at the age of 71, was a politician who more than many illustrated the changing face of the Republican party in the age of Donald Trump.
A former House member, Graham sat in the Senate from 2003 as a foreign policy hawk and a close friend and ally of John McCain, the relatively socially liberal Arizona senator who became the party's presidential nominee in 2008.
Mounting his own run in 2015, Graham presented himself as an anti-Trump voice, colorfully denouncing his rival as a far-right threat. Graham didn't vote for Trump (backing independent Evan McMullin instead) but once Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and even after Trump abused McCain both before and after his death, Graham worked his way into Trump's inner circle. Another estrangement, over January 6 and Trump's attempted election subversion, lasted an even shorter time. Back onside and on the golf course with Trump, Graham became a vociferous supporter of Trump's war with Iran.
Here's a taste of how Graham described his political journey.
On his childhood in the Sanitary Café, his parents' bar
"I would strut around the place, sometimes dressed as a cowboy – hat, vest and plastic six shooters. I might get up on the bar and walk up and down it while talking to folks. When customers went to the restroom, I might steal their beer and chug it. I might smoke their cigarette, too, if they left it burning in the ashtray. Those were antics that earned me the nickname, 'Stinkball', which everyone in the bar except my parents called me."
My Story, 17 June 2015
"I was the center of attention at that bar."
Washington Post, 5 October 2018
On his role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton
"Some people have said, 'I won't vote for impeachment.' Some House members have said, 'I will not vote for an impeachment.' Let me tell you, please don't say that until you understand what you're voting on."
Press conference, 20 November 1998
To House Democrats seeking the first impeachment of Trump
"The process you're engaging in regarding the attempted impeachment of President Trump is out of bounds. It's inconsistent with due process as we know it. It's a Star Chamber-type inquiry, and it's a substantial deviation from what the House has done in the past regarding impeachment of other presidents."
Press conference, 24 October 2019
On Trump as a presidential candidate
"He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party."
CNN, 8 December 2015
"I don't think he has a clue about anything. He's just trying to get his numbers up and get the biggest reaction he can."
CNN, 8 December 2015
"He's never served. Going to a military high school, Donald, is really not military service. You've never worn the uniform. You've never been on a forward operating base."
CNN, 8 December 2015
"You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell."
CNN, 8 December 2015
"He's just generally a loser as a person and a candidate. You can't nominate a nutjob and lose, and expect it doesn't have consequences."
Press gaggle, 25 February 2016
"What I see is a demagogue, somebody that has solutions that will never work, that is playing on people's prejudices and the dark side of politics."
To CBS News, 2 March 2016
"If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it."
Social media, 3 May 2016
"He's got a great sense of humor. He's from New York. He obviously can take a punch."
Press gaggle, 12 May 2016
"I would like to support our nominee, I just can't."
To MSNBC, 2 June 2016
On Trump as president
"I went from, 'OK, he's president' to 'How can I get to be in his orbit?' to 'How can I have a say in what's going to happen today, tomorrow and next week?'
New York Times, 25 February 2019
"I personally like him. We play golf. He's very nice to me."
New York Times, 25 February 2019
"I have never been called this much by a president in my life. It's weird, and it's flattering, and it creates some opportunity. It also creates some pressure."
New York Times, 25 February 2019
On Trump and January 6
"Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he's been a consequential president. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough."
Congress, 6 January 2021
"Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no. I've determined we can't grow without him."
Fox News, 6 May 2021
On having Trump's endorsement
"Mr President, you're not far behind God."
South Carolina, 10 June 2026
On John McCain
"He had a romantic view of our nation to his last breath. Literally almost the last thing he said to me was 'I love you. I have not been cheated.' He was not cheated."
NBC, 28 August 2018
"What I miss was the collaboration. It was a political marriage."
New York Times, 25 February 2019
"It bothers me greatly when the president says things about John McCain. It pisses me off to no end, and I'll let the president know it. The way he's handled the passing of John just was disturbing. We finally got it right. I am not going to give up on the idea of working with this president. The best way I can honor John McCain is help my country."
CBS, 30 August 2018
"I'm not living my life going forward around John McCain."
Washington Post, 5 October 2018
On his friendship with Joe Biden and investigations of Hunter Biden
"If you can't admire Joe Biden as a person, you've got a problem. He's the nicest person I've ever met in politics. As good a man as God ever created."
Huffington Post, 2 July 2015
"My friendship with Joe Biden, if it can't withstand me doing my job, then it's not the friendship I thought we had."
Fox News, 25 November 2019
On Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
"This guy is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey, and to expect me to ignore it, I feel used and abused … The MBS figure is to me toxic. He can never be a world leader on the world stage."
Fox & Friends, 16 October 2018
"I have come to know the Crown Prince over the last five years, and remain impressed by his vision for his country and the region … The Crown Prince's vision is not only great for South Carolina, it's great for the United States and the civilized world. For this to be a reality, the region cannot be controlled by the forces of darkness who seek an oppressive future for their own populations."
Social media, 19 February 2026
On Brett Kavanaugh and the supreme court
"If you wanted a FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You've said that, not me. You've got nothing to apologize for."
"When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you've done to this guy."
"You're supposed to be Bill Cosby when you're a junior and senior in high school. And all of a sudden, you got over it. It's been my understanding that if you drug women and rape them for two years in high school, you probably don't stop."
Senate hearing 17 Sept 2018
On Iran, and his support for Israel
"The simple question is, do we have a president who understands who the Iranians are?" he said about the Iran nuclear deal. "Obama is dangerously naive about the Mideast. This decision is the biggest mistake any president of the United States could make. The Iranians are not wanting to become one of the family of nations."
Boston Herald, 14 July 2015
"The Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalised population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth. It will take years to fix this problem,"
Post on X, July 2024
"If the radical cleric in Iran had a nuclear weapon, he would use it just as certainly as Hitler were to use it. He would kill all the Jews, and we're next. I'll put my efforts to make sure the military has what they need to win the wars we're in, ahead of anybody in the United States Senate."
AP, March 2026, AP
"If Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them. So, to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the strait of Hormuz."
CBS Face the Nation, 21 June 2026
