Senator Lindsey Graham spent his final hours fighting for a bill that could reshape American elections. President Donald Trump has now made that last conversation at the center of his ongoing battle over voting laws. The South Carolina Republican, who died Saturday evening at age 71, called Trump to discuss the SAVE America Act hours before his sudden death. The legislation, which lacks sufficient Senate support to pass, would fundamentally alter how federal elections operate.
Donald Trump recalls his last call with Lindsey Graham
Speaking to NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, Donald Trump described the Saturday night phone call with Lindsey Graham in detail. “He actually said he was tired, but he wanted to pass the SAVE America Act, and I said, ‘Well, we’re going to get it done, Lindsey. We’re going to get it done. I’ll see you, like, soon,’” Trump shared.
The president said Graham sounded “fine” apart from being tired. He characterized the senator’s death as a “quick end, and maybe that’s not the worst way to go.” Preliminary findings from the medical examiner reportedly suggest Graham died from a rupture of his aorta.
Donald Trump remembered Lindsey Graham as someone “like a member of the family to me.” The two men spoke regularly and golfed together. Graham had just returned from Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday. In a separate interview on CNN, Trump noted the senator “had a great trip” and was “telling me about the trip” during their call.
The president also spoke of Graham’s political skills, calling him a “tough cookie” with a “unique ability” to work with Democrats. “If I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out,” Trump said. “He was a great politician, actually.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster can now appoint a temporary replacement. Voters will choose a permanent successor in November’s midterm elections, where Republicans defend a 53-47 Senate majority. Graham had planned to appear on Meet the Press on Sunday. His final political push now echoes through a president determined to fulfill a promise made in their last moments together.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu for Mandatory.
