President Trump Shares Details Of Final Conversation With Lindsey Graham Hours Before His Death
on Jul 12, 2026
Senator Lindsey Graham Dies At 71
On Saturday (July 11), Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, died at the age of 71.
Graham served South Carolina in the U.S. Senate from 2003 until 2026 after representing the state’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. Alongside his political career, he also served in the U.S. Air Force and the South Carolina Air National Guard. According to Fox News, Graham retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 2015 with the rank of colonel.
Graham ran for president in the 2016 presidential race, but suspended his campaign by December of 2015 as future President Donald Trump and others held the lead ahead of primaries.
Trump Responds To Lindsey Graham’s Death
President Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday (July 12) writing, “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!”
You can read Trump’s full statement below.
While Graham did not immediately support Trump, he later became one of the 45th and 47th president’s most outspoken supporters.
Trump Speaks To Graham Hours Before His Sudden Death
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” early Sunday, Trump shared that he spoke with Graham just hours before the longtime South Carolina Republican’s sudden death.
“So what makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night sometime. You know, the early evening, maybe in the sevens. And he called and he said, we’re all set for the Save America Act. He was pushing the Save America act like crazy. He got back, said he just landed from Ukraine and said, that’s a long trip to make. And he said – he sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. Had a right to be when he was a worker. He was really a worker,” Trump recalled.
The president said that Graham sounded “great” on the call, so the news was very unexpected.
“He 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. We thought maybe we might even meet today. And then that was it,” Trump continued.
Trump says they hung up, and shortly after he received news that the late senator had passed away.
“And that was, you know, very around the time, it couldn’t have been much longer. It could have been his last call. I don’t know exactly, but I got a message about 1:00 in the morning from one of the people in his office that he had passed away. I said I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually. It’s amazing,” he said.
