President Donald Trump on Tuesday honored the late Senator Lindsey Graham, remembering the South Carolina Republican as a “legend” of the US Senate and a bipartisan figure who rose from modest beginnings to wield major influence in Washington.
“He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart,” Trump said of Graham, who died unexpectedly earlier this month at age 71. “Until that heart itself just gave out.”
Speaking at a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral, Trump said Graham’s humor never obscured the seriousness of his public mission. “While he was always quick to laugh, no one ever doubted the gravity of his mission to all in a strong America,” he said.
Trump also highlighted Graham’s long record of constituent work during more than two decades in the Senate. “There’s probably not a single town in South Carolina where Lindsey did not help repair a bridge, expand a school, improve a hospital, or recover from a disaster,” he said.
The president acknowledged that his relationship with Graham began contentiously when the two competed in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. “As you remember, Lindsey and I did not exactly get off to the best of starts,” Trump told mourners, recalling the moment he read out Graham’s personal phone number at a campaign rally.
“I shared his personal cell phone number with the millions of people that happened to be watching that particular day,” Trump said. “He said, ‘I had that number for 20 years.’ That was the beginning of a friendship, in a way.”
Trump joked that Graham ultimately turned the episode into the start of a lasting bond. “But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh,” he said, “because while I blew up his phone call for one day, we became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years.”
Calling Graham “a force of nature,” Trump closed his remarks by saying he would “miss him greatly.”
Trump’s remarks cap a two-day series of funerals for Graham in Washington and in the Palmetto State, where he will be laid to rest.
A number of high-profile attendees were seen streaming into the National Cathedral before services began, including current and former administration officials, foreign leaders, and Cabinet officials.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation Graham helped push through the Senate Judiciary Committee years earlier, was seated in the front row alongside his wife, Ashley. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump speaks with Vice President JD Vance before delivering his euology for Graham
Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attend the funeral service for Graham
Former Vice President Mike Pence greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a funeral service for Graham at the Washington National Cathedral
Netanyahu speaks to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Cathedral ahead of Graham’s funeral
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Lawmakers pay tribute to Graham at the US Capitol
Senator Jim Justice comforts Senator Roger Marshall at the Capitol
Other big names included Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche were seated together in the second row.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were also seated near the front of the cathedral.
Earlier, Graham’s former Senate colleagues honored his life and career at a smaller ceremony held in the Senate Rotunda. That memorial was, at times, highly emotional, as many in the chamber remembered the years they spent working alongside Graham, and walked around his casket to say their final goodbyes.
‘I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Graham at the Capitol tribute, pausing briefly as he choked back tears.
Vice President JD Vance also spoke at the service. ‘I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them, and ultimately to persuade them,’ the vice president said.
Lindsey’s death was announced just after 2am Eastern time on July 12.
The cause of death was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement issued by his office at 5pm.
‘The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized, and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,’ a spokesman for Graham’s office said at the time.
