Lindsey Graham remembered for a vision of American foreign policy that’s fading in Washington

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For decades Lindsey Graham traveled the globe selling a vision of the United States as a nation willing to use its military might to protect democracies around the world, even as his party was taken over by a president openly skeptical of that worldview.

Graham — who died unexpectedly at 71 on Saturday night — was a rare bridge between President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the traditional Washington consensus prioritizing alliances with Europe and Israel, one falling out of favor with many in both political parties.

With that idea of the U.S., Graham remained a staunch defender of Ukraine to the end, even as Trump’s commitment wavered.

Graham, who represented South Carolina in the House and Senate for more than three decades, died after what a preliminary report from the Washington, D.C., medical examiner's office said was a tear in his aorta. The senator's death triggered praise from leaders and diplomats around the world and condemnation from Iran and other countries where he’d agitated for military action.

“In an increasingly isolationist America, Sen. Graham was one of the last titans of the Senate who favored a muscular and engaged U.S. foreign policy,” said Paul Foldi, a former diplomat and top Republican staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He is irreplaceable.”

Trump, whom Graham opposed, then embraced, won the White House partly by harnessing voters' disgust with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — both of which were championed by Graham's wing of the Republican Party.

When Trump returned for a second term, Graham cheered his aggressive approach to Iran but was largely silent as the president dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, questioned the value of NATO, suggested using military force against allies to seize Greenland and praised dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“His moral flexibility over the last few years has been disappointing to many who saw him as a principled patriot,” Dan Baer, a former State Department official under President Barack Obama who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.

On Friday, shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv, Graham announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of sanctions against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Graham, whom he met twice in the past week, had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and “was here with our people when it was most needed.” He said that “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”

Graham also drew tributes for his longtime commitment to NATO and trans-Atlantic friendship at a time when those ties have been under severe strain.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Graham was “a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Rutte's predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, lauded the South Carolina senator's “tireless commitment” to NATO and the trans-Atlantic bond, and his “staunch support” for Ukraine.

Graham commanded respect on NATO's eastern edge, where Russia's intentions are viewed with deep concern.

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that “Estonia will remember him as a steadfast friend, a strong supporter of NATO’s eastern flank, and an unwavering advocate for Ukraine.” Latvian counterpart Baiba Braže said that he was “among the strongest supporters of NATO and trans-Atlantic relations (and) assistance to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.”

Baer, the former State Department official under Obama, said that Graham deserved credit for helping push Trump to retain at least some support for Ukraine. But he noted the South Carolina senator also advocated for the president to attack Iran, sparking an ongoing conflict that Baer argues the U.S. is losing.

“I don't think the historic record of Lindsey Graham's foreign policy record will be black and white,” Baer said.

Graham long backed policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs, cheered Trump's decision to strike nuclear sites last year and was a supporter of the latest conflict there. Iranian state television announced Graham’s death during a live broadcast in openly hostile terms.

“I congratulate the great nation of Iran on Lindsey Graham, the warmongering and anti-Iranian U.S. senator, having gone to hell,” the anchor said.

While Graham was admired in Israel, his position toward the war in Gaza in particular angered many in the Middle East, including U.S. allies who advocated a diplomatic solution.

He was outspoken in supporting Israel’s devastating military operations in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

In May 2024, after Washington paused some military aid to Israel, Graham urged then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “give Israel what they need to fight the war.” He likened the threat Israel faced to “Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.” He posted on social media later that year that “the Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalized population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”

Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States are inseparable and the prime minister said that Graham devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.

But the Gaza war has also helped trigger a shift against Israel among American voters, with 58% of Democrats saying in a recent AP-NORC poll that the U.S. gives Israelis too much support.

In addition, younger Republicans are more likely than their older counterparts to say the U.S. is too supportive of Israelis, raising the possibility of a generational shift.

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Riccardi reported from Denver, Colorado. Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.