Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shared details of what he described as his last exchange with Lindsey Graham before the U.S. senator’s reported sudden death at 71.
Speaking Sunday afternoon on Fox & Friends Weekend, Netanyahu said Graham pushed back when the prime minister raised the idea of winding down American military assistance to Israel.
Netanyahu recalled that Graham viewed Israel’s security as closely tied to America’s own interests, saying the senator was so committed to that belief that he challenged Israel’s prime minister over maintaining — and even expanding — U.S. aid. Netanyahu described him as an “extraordinary” friend.
Graham was known as a strong advocate for both Ukraine and Israel, and he frequently counseled the president on foreign policy issues involving Russia and Iran.
He died Saturday evening in Washington, D.C., following what was described as a brief and sudden illness.
The senator had returned home Friday from Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Netanyahu said that even after he argued Israel had “come of age” and built a strong economy, Graham remained unconvinced.
According to Netanyahu, he told Graham that Israel was capable of funding its own defense needs, including weapons purchases tied to both Israeli security and shared strategic interests with the United States. He said his plan was to gradually reduce U.S. military support for Israel over several years until it reached zero.
While on Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu said that Graham disagreed when he suggested ending US military aid to Israel
He died on Saturday evening at the age of 71 in Washington DC after succombing to a ‘brief and sudden illness’
His comment comes just hours after President Donald Trump shared that he spoke to Graham just hours before he died.
He recalled Graham being ‘like a member of the family to him,’ and that the two of them had spoken over the phone on Saturday night, just hours before he died.
Trump also revealed that Graham called him to discuss the passage of the SAVE America Act, which Graham co-sponsored in the US Senate.
‘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 noted on Meet the Press.
The SAVE America Act has been passed by the US House of Representatives three times, but has not been passed by the Senate, where it needs 60 votes due to the filibuster.
The office of Graham, who has represented South Carolina since 2002, announced in the early hours of Sunday that the senator had passed away.
Trump had earlier shared a tribute to the late Senator on Truth Social shortly after the announcement was made.
‘Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The senator (pictured next to Netanyahu) was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and Israel, and he advised the president on foreign policy matters pertaining to Russia and Iran
Graham was one of Trump’s closest allies in the US Senate, consistently voting to enact the president’s agenda.
In late March 2025, just a little more than a month after Trump took office, the president posted a lengthy endorsement of Graham, referring to the senator as ‘a wonderful friend.’
The president ordered that American flags be lowered at half-staff at the White House on Sunday morning to honor the late senator.
He also joined several news networks, including NBC News and CNN, where he spoke about his love for Graham.
Graham was one of Trump’s closest allies in the US Senate, consistently voting to enact the president’s agenda
When asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper if he wanted to say anything about the late Republican, Trump said: ‘No, I think his finest moment was his defense of Brett Kavanaugh, who’s a terrific guy, and was treated very, very unfairly by the Democrats. Very – I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Trump replied, speaking of the US Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
‘He was treated so unfairly, and Lindsey, as you remember, had that moment. I think it was the top 10, maybe the top five moments in the history of the senate. It was an incredible display, and he did it from the heart,’ he added.
Trump’s comment refers to when Graham fiercley defended Kavanaugh against sexual assault allegations during the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
The senator blasted the hearing as the ‘most unethical sham’ he ever witnessed in politics, and said that Kavanaugh had ‘nothing to apologize for’ before urging Republicans to support the judge.
