Trump eulogises Lindsey Graham as ‘extremely hawkish’ ally at funeral
Washington ceremony highlights late South Carolina senator’s evolution from fierce critic to key presidential confidant
US President Donald Trump eulogised Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday as a fixture of American politics and unflinching foreign policy hawk, as the leaders of Israel and Ukraine joined Washington’s most powerful at his funeral.
Earlier in the day, lawmakers paid tribute at the Capitol Rotunda, remembering one of the last prominent Republicans to advocate for muscular US military power abroad as gregarious, funny and persuasive.
“He was extremely hawkish – he never saw a war that he didn’t like,” Trump said. “Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it.”
Graham denounced Trump early in his political career before becoming a staunch supporter, and Trump mourned his fellow Republican as both a favourite golfing buddy and an essential confidant in navigating partisan politics in Washington.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican who died suddenly from a heart ailment on July 11 at age 71, regularly called for an interventionist US role on the world stage. He strongly backed both Israel and Ukraine, and both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Washington to pay tribute on Tuesday.
At the Capitol ceremony, Vice-President J.D. Vance recalled him as a compelling figure in the Senate whose risqué jokes could make him laugh to the point of abdominal cramps.