Meet the Press Full Episode — July 12

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: This Sunday, remembering Senator Lindsey Graham. After more than two decades in the Senate, Senator Graham has died at the age of 71. A dominant voice on foreign policy, a key ally of President Trump, and one of the most consequential figures in modern Republican politics. We will look back on his legacy and what his passing means for the Senate, the Republican Party, and the country. My guest this morning, President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Republicans and Democrats who served in Congress with Senator Graham. Welcome to Sunday and a special edition of Meet the Press. [00:00:44] Speaker 2: From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is a special edition of Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. [00:00:54] Speaker 1: Good Sunday morning. Overnight, the United States lost one of its most influential and consequential senators. Lindsey Graham died Saturday evening after what his office called a brief and sudden illness. He was 71 years old. Just hours earlier, Senator Graham had returned to Washington from a trip to Ukraine. He was scheduled to join us here on Meet the Press this morning for what would have been his 64th appearance. He was one of the broadcast's most frequent guests. Instead, this morning, we remember a man who served South Carolina for more than two decades, who helped shape America's foreign policy, whose voice was a constant presence in our national debate, and whose death has left colleagues of both parties in shock. We'll look back at his life, his public service, and his lasting impact on the Senate and the country. And to start us off and do that, joining me now on the phone is President Donald Trump for reaction to the death of his close friend. President Trump, thank you for joining us, and my condolences to you. [00:02:00] Speaker 3: Well, thank you. He's a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way, actually. [00:02:07] Speaker 1: He was, Mr. President, and I know that we are all just absorbing this news. We are all in shock. Can you tell us, Mr. President, how you received this news and your immediate gut reaction when you heard it? [00:02:23] Speaker 3: So what makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night sometime in, you know, the early evening, maybe in the 7s, 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. I said, that's a long trip to make. He said he sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired. I had a right to be. Man, he was a worker. He was really a worker. But he sounded great, actually. But 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, Lindsay. We're going to get it done. I'll see you, like, soon. We thought we might even meet today. And then that was it. 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 o'clock in the morning from one of the people at 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. [00:03:31] Speaker 1: Mr. President. [00:03:32] Speaker 3: He was such an advocate. He was, you know, if he wanted to get something. And, you know, he had a unique ability. He was able to deal with Democrats and Republicans. If I had a problem, a real problem, I wouldn't often ask. But if I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out. And he was a great politician, actually. [00:03:54] Speaker 1: He loved his work, Mr. President. I hear you saying that in this final conversation that you have, emblematic. He was tireless. But it brought him such joy, didn't it? [00:04:10] Speaker 3: There was nobody like him. He loved being a politician. And he was going to win his election. He was going to win it big. I endorsed him very early, and he was going to win it big. He just had it made. And he just loved being a politician. I said, the reason I'm endorsing you is because I've got to make sure you win. Because if you didn't win, I don't think you could handle life. I really don't. He was a man. You know, there are guys they can lose, and they go into something else. I can't imagine him doing anything else. I said, if you weren't a U.S. senator, I don't know if you could live very long. And look what happens. He was going to have a big victory. And the people loved him. Everybody loved him. Well, no, he had some enemy. He was a tough cookie. Don't misunderstand. He was a tough cookie in many ways. If he wanted to get something, if he thought he was right and he had people against him, he could be very tough, actually. But he was a good person. [00:05:07] Speaker 1: Mr. President, it is just extraordinary. You just spoke with him last night. His office says he passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Are you learning any more details about how and why he may have passed? Did he tell you anything in that phone call, Mr. President, about not feeling well? [00:05:25] Speaker 3: No, he said he's a little tired. It's a long trip, you know, many hours. And he had just gotten back. And he, I mean, it must have been right after that, because I understand the police or whoever it is came there at about 7.30, 8 o'clock in the evening, something like that. So somebody notified him. But, no, he felt okay. I mean, I actually, on the call, he told me, Chris, and he said, you know, I feel good, but I'm tired. He was fine. I knew him well. He would let you know if he wasn't feeling well. He had days where he didn't feel so well, and he'd let you know about it. But he was a fantastic person. He was a man who, you're going to watch, it's going to be a very big thing with him. He's going to be appreciated more now than he was when he was living, I think. [00:06:19] Speaker 1: And just to make that point, I mean, authorities were called to his home responding to initial reports of a cardiac arrest. Again, his office saying a brief and sudden illness. Do you have any more details about that? [00:06:35] Speaker 3: I would think it would be that, because when I spoke to him, it could have been, you know, minutes before, based on, you know, based on the fact that I heard about the call, whatever time that was, so it was shortly before. But it had to be something like that, because he was, other than being tired, he was fine. And so it had to be something like that, that would just be a quick end. And maybe that's not the worst way to go. You know, you know, he had some fine moments. His moment on Brett Kavanaugh was one of the classics, I think, in the history of the Senate. His moment was literally, I mean, literally one of the great classics of anyone in the Senate, when he defended Brett Kavanaugh so brilliantly. And Brett might not have made it, except for that. He was, they were treating him very unfairly. Good man. They treated him so unfairly. And Lindsey was so angry at the Senate because of it. And he had a really an emotional moment. And I think that saved Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court, you know, ascension. He, Lindsey did something that he was just so angry at the way Brett was being treated by the Democrats. It was so unfair. It was so unfair. I want to ask you more about his legacy. Lindsey got that over. Lindsey did a thing there that was, I think, nobody else could have done that. [00:08:04] Speaker 1: Let me ask you a little bit more about his legacy. And I know you remember this moment, Mr. President, back in 2015, when he was one of your challengers on the campaign trail, the two of you facing off against each other. And then he very quickly became one of your staunchest allies, Mr. President. And he, frankly, never let up in that posture. No, he never did. He played golf together, frequently on the phone together. What do you think it is about Senator Graham that allowed him to make that transition from competitor to ally so quickly and so forcefully? [00:08:40] Speaker 3: Well, I got to know Lindsey during the campaign. I didn't really know him then. I met him once or twice, but nothing. And I got to know him during the campaign. He was tough, but he said, I'll see you in South Carolina. You know, he was, but when I came to South Carolina, I won South Carolina by a lot. And I sort of ran the table on everybody, and it was good. And he appreciated it. He respected it. And we sort of got a little bit friendly, and just the friendship grew. It just grew. And he was an amazing advocate. He was, I don't know how you find anybody like him. He was so intense. I mean, he literally called me about the Save America Act. That's why he's, you know, that's where I heard, think of it, he's traveling for many, many hours. That's a long flight. That's a long trip. And he, you know, calls me about the Save America Act. He thought we were going to get it passed. [00:09:38] Speaker 1: Do you remember the very? [00:09:39] Speaker 3: This is a big, this is a big blow to the Save America Act, let me tell you. [00:09:45] Speaker 1: Do you remember, Mr. President, what was the last thing you said to him? What was the last thing he said to you? [00:09:51] Speaker 3: I said, we'll see you soon. Come over anytime you want. He came into the White House a lot, because I liked him. You can't do that with everybody. But he'd come in a lot. And he was a great, like a gauge, a temperature gauge of the Senate. He was somebody that most Democrats liked. Some didn't, but most Democrats liked. And just about all of the Republicans liked Lindsey. He got along with everybody. And yet he was a tough cookie in a lot of ways. But he had a, honestly, he was a great politician. People don't realize what a good politician he was. He could go in and get something approved. He would just get people on his side. He was really a talented, you know, you probably never heard me say that about anybody. There aren't too many of them, let me tell you. Sometimes you'll meet somebody that's been there for 25 years. You say, how did they stay? They're not. This man was a great politician. He really got it. [00:10:54] Speaker 1: To that point, Mr. President, it's nearly impossible to think about replacing Senator Lindsey Graham. And yet the governor of the great state of South Carolina is going to need to appoint someone on an interim basis. There will also be a special election call. Do you have, I know it's only hours, but is there someone you think he should appoint? Is there someone you think he will appoint? [00:11:17] Speaker 3: I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don't want to say it now because it just, you know, it's too soon with Lindsey. I don't want to even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good. The governor is a good friend of mine. I've endorsed him. You know, I endorsed him early on, and he endorsed me right from the beginning as a person that never did this before. In 2016, he came out and very strongly endorsed me, and then I made up for it. I removed somebody from office that I didn't think was so good, moved her over to the United Nations. Ninety-five percent of that, of my doing that, because the United Nations job was not exactly tough. It could be very important, but, you know, she was okay at it. But I did it because Henry McMaster was the lieutenant governor, and by moving her, I got myself a great, really a great guy. Henry McMaster has been a really good governor, really good guy. And, you know, that position cleared out. And Henry's been a great governor. You know, now he's termed out. But he's going to do the right thing. I think Henry will be fantastic. Remember, he endorsed me out of nowhere. He just, he said, I like that guy the best. And he campaigned for me with his wife, with Peg. He campaigned for me. I'd say, who is that man that's campaigning all the time? I hardly knew him. They said, that's the lieutenant governor. So they have a great governor, and he's going to make a good decision. But ultimately, it's going to be an election pretty soon. As I understand the rules, every state is different. But ultimately, they'll have an election. They'll have some people joining. Some are good. Some are bad. But I have somebody that I like, but I'm not going to tell you who now because it's too soon. [00:13:03] Speaker 1: All right. Fair enough. [00:13:04] Speaker 3: I never thought I'd be in this position. [00:13:06] Speaker 1: Yeah. [00:13:07] Speaker 3: I said, I thought Lindsay was going to be living forever. I never thought, I said, Lindsay, you're going to live forever. And he was going to have a big victory. You know, he was scheduled to win by a lot. He had my support, and he was scheduled. He was going to win by a lot. He was going to have one of his best elections ever. And now he's got this terrible. [00:13:28] Speaker 1: Well, I had the great honor of being able to talk to him a couple of times this week, Mr. President. And as you can imagine, we talked about a lot of foreign policy. We talked about a lot of Iran. And in honor of him, I want to still have some of those conversations. Those were the conversations he wanted to have here this morning, Mr. President. You obviously launched a fresh round of strikes overnight. Iran said overnight the Strait of Hormuz is closed. CENTCOM came out this morning and said the Strait of Hormuz is open. Which is it, Mr. President? And how are you going to respond? [00:14:01] Speaker 3: And I don't want to talk about it, because I want to honor the life of Lindsay Graham. So I don't want to talk about it. I told you that before the call. [00:14:08] Speaker 4: Yeah. [00:14:08] Speaker 3: It's open. We bombed the hell out of them last night. They're very, very evil and sick people. We had meetings with them for the last, they agreed to a deal yesterday, a perfect deal for us. No nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing. They gave up everything. And then after that, they left the room. And then within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship. I said, you people are sick. You're sick people. And so it's one of those things. I don't want to talk about it. [00:14:41] Speaker 1: Finally, before I let you go. [00:14:43] Speaker 3: I want to talk about one person today, Lindsay Graham. [00:14:46] Speaker 1: As we should, Mr. President. Just finally, before I let you go, what is the legacy of Senator Lindsay Graham, Mr. President? [00:14:54] Speaker 3: He's got so many legacies, but one of the legacies is a Supreme Court justice who's excellent named Brett Kavanaugh. That's one of the legacies. That's a big legacy, because Brett was being treated very unfairly. I don't think he could have gotten through without Lindsay's classic. I mean, if you go back into the top ten, I think it would be a top ten, a top five in the history of the Senate. The emotion, the anger, the love, the whole thing, everything was in that. I called him up. I said, that's one of the great classics of all time. He was a great politician. He really was. He got along with a lot of people that you wouldn't think of. He was somebody that loved our country, and he fought very hard for the country. And I know he was going to do your show today. He told me I'm doing Meet the Press. Can you believe it? He said, here I am, doing Meet the Press for him. But he told me last night he's doing Meet the Press. So, you know, but I said, just relax and take it easy, Lindsay. He just got back from a long trip. But he was, I thought he was just going to live forever. And it didn't work out that way. [00:16:04] Speaker 1: Mr. President, our deepest condolences to you. I know that you have lost a friend as well as one of your closest allies. And we deeply appreciate your joining us today and giving us your reflections on Senator Lindsey Graham, who the nation's capital and the country mourning today. Mr. President, thank you very much for your time. [00:16:25] Speaker 3: Thank you very much, Kristen. Thank you. [00:16:27] Speaker 1: Thank you. And joining me now is Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, another longtime friend and ally of Senator Lindsey Graham. Prime Minister Netanyahu, welcome back to Meet the Press. And my condolences to you. [00:16:41] Speaker 5: Well, thank you. I'm frankly in a state of shock because, as President Trump said, Lindsey was so vibrant. He was so full of life. He was so full of energy and dedication that it's hard to accept the fact that he is no more. He, I think America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of the great champions of the American-Israeli alliance. And frankly, I've lost a beloved friend who I've had for many decades. There's just no one like him. [00:17:18] Speaker 1: Well, Mr. Prime Minister, Senator Graham was one of the leading voices advocating for Israel, advocating for expanding the Abraham Accords. Every time I talked to him, he wanted to talk about this. Mr. Prime Minister, what does his loss mean, not only for you, but the people of Israel? What do you think the impact is globally? [00:17:42] Speaker 5: In Israel, it's grief. In Iran, it's celebration. Because Lindsey never confused good and evil. He knew exactly where the Iranian regime is. He thought it was a great danger, not merely to Israel and to America's allies in the Middle East, but to America itself. And he just never wavered. You know, he was so clear. He had clarity. He had courage. He had the convictions that he believed were at the basis of America. That's, I always use it like the Superman comics. You remember freedom, justice, and the American way. He represented these traditional values, and, Christian, he never flinched. He was just, he was absolutely uncaring about the winds of fashion. You know, he believed something. He spoke about it. He spoke about it directly and with candor. And if he wanted to tell me something unpleasant, he would do so, you know, in his southern drawl. And sometimes I always say that I knew something bad was coming when you said, well, you know, you want to take it from a good old southern born from me who doesn't know much about the world. And then he'd bring it in, you know. He was so, he was so smart and so full of conviction and dedication that it's these qualities. And I think the president spoke about it. He was at once a great politician. But I think, beyond that, I think he was just an incredible patriot for America. [00:19:09] Speaker 1: You talked about the fact that he has as many friends and some enemies. You heard President Trump say he could be a tough cookie. He talked about the fact that Iran had threatened him. Did he have concerns? How did he process the fact that he was quite outspoken and not afraid to engage in tough debates? [00:19:31] Speaker 5: Well, he was, he was absolutely fearless. You know, we spoke about it more than once, but he, he was fearless as he should be. He's a, he's a leader in public life and you have to take those risks. But I, frankly, hope to have many more years of friendship with him and enjoyed his, just his indefatigable and incorrigible honesty. He was, he was very honest about his views. And the amazing thing about Lindsey Graham is he, he put it directly, you know. He said, you know, I, I stand with Israel openly. I have, I know that the winds of fashion blow in another way. I couldn't care less. Sometimes he'd incorporate some words that I won't repeat now. But he was just so clear, so courageous, both for his own personal safety, but also for what he believed was absolutely necessary for America. And he believed that Israel's security and America's security are intertwined. He, it wasn't just a spin or anything like that. It was something he, he held deeply for many decades. And I, I could see his, his contributions because he always, he sometimes tried to out-negotiate me. You know, we were, it's just unbelievable. You know, we were, we had with three American presidents, with President Clinton, President Obama, and President Trump, we had numerandums of understandings for support for Israel's military, which, by the way, I think we have time now to, we've come of age and we're able to draw them down to zero. But he would argue with me. He would say, no, you know, for ballistic missile defense, that's important for you. It's important for America. Whatever is the number, it has to be bigger. And I said, Lindsay, we can do with a smaller number. He said, no, you can't. And then he would go to the Senate and actually, can you imagine this? He would outbid the Prime Minister of Israel. He said, I'm not getting a single vote in South Carolina for that because, you know, there are very few Jews in South Carolina. And the people, yes, they support Israel, my constituency, but I support Israel. And I think you need more. And I'm going to fight for this. This is who Lindsey Graham was. He went with his convictions. And yet he was an amazing, amazingly able politician to be able to talk to people on the other side of the aisle. And he did that very often. [00:21:57] Speaker 1: He loved engaging in the debate. And it's so fascinating to hear you say that he was not afraid to out-debate you on this core issue for Israel. Well, if he were here today, and it's still just such a shock that he's not, he would want to talk about Iran. He would want to talk about the conflict with Iran, Mr. Prime Minister. I spoke to him throughout the course of this week. He thought that a more robust military operation was needed in this moment after President Trump had declared the ceasefire over. Do you agree with that? Are you on the same page with President Trump about that? How do you see this moving forward? [00:22:33] Speaker 5: I think President Trump wants to exhaust the possibility of achieving an agreement, especially on the nuclear issue, through negotiations. But he is obviously not shy of using force when the Iranians break every commitment they make, and usually a few hours or a few minutes after they make it. So I think we should let the President have his opportunity. You know, Israel is keenly grateful for the fact that America and Israel joined forces to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, not only against us, but against the entire West and against the United States. Now, people don't understand how close that was. And the fact that we had these two operations, which are called Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, we call Rising Line and Roaring Line, we actually drove it back. We removed this immediate and present danger of Iran with nuclear weapons that would have posed a danger to everybody. And I think that Lindsey was unabashed. He talked to me about it. He said, you know, you have to do it. You have to do it. He came to me and said, Bibi, you have to do it. You have to knock out these nuclear weapons programs before they knock us out. He was very clear about that. By the way, as was President Trump throughout the many years that I've known him. So, he didn't move, you know, he didn't say, oh, well, maybe it's not fashionable to say it now. Maybe public opinion has turned against it. He couldn't care less. I mean, he was aware of it, but it didn't change his convictions. And he did what he thought was good for America. And he thought that a strong Israel is good for a strong America and vice versa, of course. [00:24:25] Speaker 1: Before I let you go, I do want to give you the opportunity, if you would like, to respond to Congressman Ro Khanna. He is going to be on this broadcast. He says he visited the West Bank. He was blocked by settlers wielding guns. He says the IDF did not help fuse this situation. Do you have any comment on that this morning, Mr. Prime Minister? [00:24:47] Speaker 5: Yeah, we're a country of laws. And people who break the law, we take them to court. In the West Bank, in Judea and Siberia, we've had thousands, thousands of attempted attacks and warnings against terrorist activities, against innocent Israelis, families, mother, with their children driving along the road. They're stopped by terrorists and they kill them. And this has happened again and again and again. There is a vigilante effort, not by the settler community. There are 99.9 percent, you know, law-abiding citizens. They work, they serve in the army, and so on. There are 150 juvenile delinquents that are not part of that community. They come from the other parts of Israel. We are, I don't want vigilantes of any kind. And we are working to put them under the law. But I think if we put things in perspective, we should see that we have thousands of attacks and some, few, but obvious breaking of the law. Then we apply the full measure of the law against them. Israel, unlike our neighbors, is a democracy and a country of law. And we act against those who break the law. [00:26:02] Speaker 1: Well, as you have said, one of your staunchest allies was Senator Lindsey Graham. And we cannot thank you enough for coming on this program to remember his life and this legacy in this moment of national mourning. Thank you so much, Mr. Prime Minister. We really appreciate it. [00:26:18] Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you very much. [00:26:20] Speaker 1: And when we come back, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott joins me to reflect on the life of Senator Lindsey Graham. Welcome back. And joining me now to reflect on the sudden passing of his colleague is South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Senator Scott, thank you so much for joining us. And my condolences to you and to all the people of South Carolina. [00:26:48] Speaker 6: Thank you, Chris. And thank you for having me. And thank you for extending your condolences, not just to me, but this entire state has lost a statesman. I have lost a friend. [00:26:59] Speaker 1: Well, we appreciate your joining us to talk about the Senator's life, what he accomplished, what he leaves behind. How do you see the legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham? [00:27:12] Speaker 6: Chris, I think it really reminds me of where he started. Here's a guy raised in the back of a bar. He's 19 years old at the University of South Carolina. Within 15 months, his mother dies, and then his father has a massive heart attack, and he passes as well. Lindsey adopts his 13-year-old sister and becomes a surrogate father to his sister. That pain and misery led him into public service. He started public service because he wanted to make sure that no one felt invisible, that the people who needed the help, that the government was there to help those who could not help themselves. Not those who would not help themselves, but those who could not help themselves. And through time, of course, he was in the Air Force and then the Air National Guard. He spent his life in public service because he loved America and felt like his story was not possible anywhere else. And the one thing I can tell you about losing my friend Lindsey is I'm losing someone who understands that we serve in public office for our bosses, the people of South Carolina, and every single senator. We don't lead the people. We should serve the people. And Lindsey Graham reminds me of that every single day. [00:28:31] Speaker 1: What do you see, Senator, as his lasting impact, not just on South Carolina, but foreign policy, which he was deeply immersed in? [00:28:41] Speaker 6: Well, for me personally, his lasting legacy is really brevity. He could be short and witty at the same time and funny. I'll give you one story and I'll hit foreign policy. I started a South Carolina prayer breakfast for all of those of us who live in D.C. And I called Lindsey my first year and said, Lindsey, will you please come to my prayer breakfast at 830 in the morning? Lindsey says, I'm not coming if Jesus comes back before 10 a.m. And Kristen, that dude made me laugh so loud at a prayer breakfast. And then, of course, at 831, who walks through the door, Lindsey Graham. He was that kind of friend. He was committed to the people he loved. Foreign policy. Lindsey believed that every single American, wherever you travel, you should be safe. And whatever it took to make that a reality, he wanted to do. As a man who put on the uniform himself to keep Americans safe, he was really committed. And frankly, he leaned into the foreign policy debates. He leaned into the conflicts around the world because he believed that he was given by God a responsibility and an opportunity to make a difference. And he did make a difference. Whether it's the 10th visit in so many months to Ukraine, whether it was with China or Iran, Lindsey Graham believed in keeping Americans safe. And he believed, Kristen, and I believe he was right, that a non-nuclear Iran was to save the lives of millions of people around the world and hundreds of thousands of Americans. He was just that committed to the causes he believed in. [00:30:28] Speaker 1: Senator, I can see how emotional this is for you. And so it is so hard to ask this question because Governor McMaster is tasked with appointing someone to replace him, at least temporarily, to fill that seat. Do you have a sense of who that's going to be or who that should be? [00:30:45] Speaker 6: I don't, to be honest with you. I do know that there are at least one or two Congress members that I would expect Henry McMaster, our governor, to consider. I would imagine that there is going to be a sprint because, as you remember, Kristen, Lindsey was up for re-election right now. So next month, there will be likely an open primary to replace the Republican nominee. And by the end of the month, I would assume that we will be well on our way to electing someone as his successor. Hard to swallow that. Life moves so quickly, and the party doesn't stop ever. And so the governor will appoint someone, maybe a caretaker, between now and the end of the year. And then because the primary season opens so quickly, I would imagine an open primary process would be in the best interest of South Carolinians. But that's his choice and one that I look forward to seeing who comes out. [00:31:41] Speaker 1: Senator Tim Scott, again, our condolences, you all there in South Carolina, in our thoughts, as is the family of Senator Lindsey Graham. Thank you so much for joining us. [00:31:52] Speaker 6: Thank you, Kristen. Please take the time to call someone you love. That's one message I think we should all remember. We should take the time today to say I love you to your family and your friends. Don't take it for granted. Life is too short. [00:32:04] Speaker 1: Well, that is a powerful final message, Senator. Thank you for that, and we will take you up on that. When we come back, Senator Adam Schiff and Congressman Ro Khanna join me next. Welcome back, and joining me now is Deborah Adam Schiff of California. Senator Schiff, thank you so much for being here. My condolences to you for the loss of one of your colleagues. One of the hallmarks of Senator Lindsey Graham was that he was not afraid to reach across the aisle. What are your reflections this morning? [00:32:39] Speaker 7: Well, that's absolutely true. And I think we're all trying to wrap our heads around this giant loss. He was one of those figures that was really larger than life, that was so filled with energy that it's hard to imagine him gone. But you have folks in political life who can disagree and not be disagreeable about it, who can have sharp debates with you. But he had, as Tim Scott was alluding, to a wonderful sense of humor that he used to cut through the tension. He used that sense of humor in a self-effacing way. He would make jest about his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and he was just, I think, wonderful to travel with. I had the opportunity to go with him around the world to see the respect that world leaders had for him. I think those of us in the Senate, as well as around the world, understood how close he was to the president. Many of us considered him the Trump whisperer. If we wanted to know what the president's thinking was or how he might be moved on something, you would go to Lindsey to discuss it. But what I remember most about Lindsey, what I will treasure most about him, was his just very quick wit, his wonderful sense of humor, and how he deployed it to move his policy positions forward, his tremendous grasp of foreign policy, his staunch support of Ukraine, which I think will be a big part of his legacy as well. [00:34:10] Speaker 1: Very robust views toward Iran also. We were going to have a big discussion about that here this morning. Senator, you heard me talking to President Trump about it, Prime Minister Netanyahu. How do you see the next steps with Iran, given that military action has resumed? [00:34:30] Speaker 7: It's very difficult to see the way out of what has become a kind of a quagmire. This memorandum of understanding was so vague that you see all the problems with essentially agreeing to agree in the future. I think you're also seeing the problems with embarking on a war of choice, a war that the president got this country involved in, not because we were attacked or because there was an imminent threat of attack, but because he chose to do so. It was, I think, ill thought out. He never came to Congress for any authorization, so it was also unconstitutional and unlawful. I'll be introducing another War Powers Resolution as soon as we go back this week to try to bring that conflict to an end. But sadly, Iran has realized that it has a kind of a nuclear weapon already, and that is the ability with minimal force to close the Strait of Hormuz and to choke off a big part of the world's oil supply. And that has meant that Americans that are already struggling, that, you know, with an economy that's not working for people, are struggling harder now because they can't afford the price of gas and groceries and all the other impacts of this war of choice. So, very difficult to see where we go from here, except that it is likely to be protracted. It seems the administration is just fighting to get us back to something that looks a lot like the JCPOA. And I think President Trump's tearing up of that agreement will go down as one of the gravest mistakes of foreign policy in history. [00:35:59] Speaker 1: All right. Senator Adam Schiff, thank you so much for being here to remember Senator Lindsey Graham to talk about one of the issues that he loved debating. Senator Schiff, really appreciate it. And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman Khanna, thank you so much for being here. My condolences to you. It's a loss for everyone in Congress. [00:36:19] Speaker 8: Well, my condolences to Senator Graham's family. He obviously served this country honorably in the Air Force. He was someone who bucked his own party on immigration, who talked about having undocumented people have a pathway to citizenship. And, of course, we had very profound disagreements on foreign policy. I do believe that there is a new generation that does not want these foreign wars and wants a more human rights oriented foreign policy. But my condolences to him and recognition of his service. [00:36:52] Speaker 1: He loved having those debates. And as you say, foreign policy was front and center in those debates. He had a very close relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. You just heard me talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I do want to ask you, because you just returned from a three-day trip to the West Bank this week. You say you were held by Israeli settlers with rifles. We do have some still footage that was captured by your team of the incident. We should say in a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces or the IDF released a statement saying, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene quickly, dispersed the Israeli civilians and reopened the blocked road. The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road. Walk us through what you experienced. [00:37:34] Speaker 8: The IDF is lying. What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4s, kicking the tires of our van, laughing at us, mocking at us, videotaping us. We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives. Then the IDF comes, forced soldiers, they tell our translator that they're on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in. We had to call the American embassy. Fortunately, David Brownstein helped, and he got to someone in Israel. And 75 minutes after the detention by the IDF soldiers and by these settlers, we were let through. Now, I heard the prime minister, and he says that Israel is a country of law and order. Well, let me be very specific. The prime minister needs to open an investigation on these violent settlers who are connected to Yanon Levy, who has destroyed Zanouda's village and is a known person who has killed Palestinians. And these settlers were connected to him. They need to be prosecuted, including Yanon Levy. Their outpost needs to be investigated. And he needs to have an investigation on these four IDF officers. Security cameras can see that they were involved in the detention of American citizens. How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way? [00:39:01] Speaker 1: Well, we appreciate your weighing in on that. Obviously, that has gotten a lot of attention. I want to ask you about something else that has been under a microscope. Your endorsement of Senate candidate Graham Plattner in Maine. He has since dropped out amid a swirl of controversies. Congressman, you stood by him through a series of previous controversies, from a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol to his online posts blaming survivors of sexual assault. Even after the New York Times published allegations from ex-girlfriends describing a pattern of emotional abuse, aggressive behavior, which he denies, we should say. Why weren't those past controversies a breaking point for you? [00:39:42] Speaker 8: For me, the line always was sexual assault or sexual violence. And as soon as that came out, I was the first person to withdraw my endorsement. But I will say I got that call wrong. And if there's some self-reflection, it is that we all need to see the signs earlier of people who may engage in domestic violence. Look, I wasn't the only one. You had Planned Parenthood. You had Senator Warren. You had the entire Democratic Party. But I did get that call wrong. I think what is important, though, is to understand his politics. He was opposed to foreign wars. He was opposed to Medicare for all. And why the progressive movement more broadly, why these issues are resonating. [00:40:19] Speaker 1: Do you regret endorsing him? Yes. You flat out regret endorsing him? [00:40:22] Speaker 8: I got that call wrong. I endorse a lot of people. But when I make a mistake, I take accountability. And I think what people want is the humility to take accountability if you make a call that's wrong. [00:40:33] Speaker 1: All right. Congressman Khanna, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. We really appreciate it. Our panel is here to reflect on the life and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham. That's next. We'll be right back. [00:40:47] Speaker 3: Tim, look, this is a good guy, smart guy. We've been to RAC together. I've been there seven times. You've been there six. No, no. [00:40:55] Speaker 9: Hey, I'm glad I came on this show. If we had another 30 minutes, we might solve this. So we're finding some common ground here. I could solve this. Well, well. [00:41:03] Speaker 1: Welcome back. The panel is here. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Washington and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent. Jonathan Martin, Politics Bureau Chief and Senior Political Columnist for Politico. Republican Strategist Sarah Fagan and former Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings. Welcome to all of you. I know everyone at this table this morning. Andrea, that clip there, those clips just underscore the fact that Senator Graham is a creature of Washington. [00:41:30] Speaker 4: Absolutely, but he was Mr. South Carolina, and to the extent that, as the president said, there's no way that he would have not both run and won his re-election. His life was the Senate. And he was, when I first knew him, he was in the House when I first knew him, and he was the impeachment manager against Bill Clinton, yet still worked with the Clinton economic team on critical issues. And then when he became a senator, worked across the aisle, he was identified so closely with John McCain. He and Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, they were the three amigos, we used to call them. And I remember in 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota, before the Republican convention, he was talking to me about his desire to have Joe Lieberman as John McCain's running me, a bipartisan team. Almost happened. That was almost on the eve of the convention, of course, what was going on in Alaska was the vetting of Sarah Palin, which a lot of us didn't know. He was so close to McCain that when I traveled with him just this past February to the Munich Security Conference, he was leading the Senate delegation with some 30, some members. And it was called the Codell McCain, he always called it Codell McCain, they were identified with that. There was a bipartisan dinner that night, the closing night. He and Sheldon Whitehouse were telling the crowd, you know, McCain jokes, bad jokes of McCain with Jimmy McCain, his son, Lee Center's son there. And I went with him exclusively for NBC News to a pro-Iran expat rally. It was the biggest rally that, Jonathan, he said he had ever attended. Right. 250,000 people, according to the police, in a pouring rainstorm. He was having the time of his life. Well, Jay Martin, I mean, you picked up on that. [00:43:23] Speaker 10: When Lindsey Graham ran for the Senate in 2002, he was taking the place of a larger-than-life figure in Strom Thurmond. And there was questions at the time. Could people like Fritz Hollings and Strom Thurmond, these enormous titans of the Senate, be replaced? And I think over almost 25 years, Lindsey Graham answered the question emphatically that, in fact, he could fill those shoes. For a slight guy, he was a big man. He was influential in South Carolina and Washington and most significantly around the world. And a lot of folks in his own party and some of his former admirers couldn't stand how he accommodated Donald Trump. But that kept him, Kristen, in the room. And for Lindsey Graham, being in the room, being at the table, being at the conversation was central. And he used that power to steer Trump away from some of his isolationist instincts and toward the sort of Reaganite flame on foreign policy. So he did it privately and publicly every day that Trump served. [00:44:21] Speaker 11: The Ukraine is on the verge of pushing Russia even further back. And there's one person who deserves the most credit for that, and it's Lindsey Graham. He comes on the show. He advocates. He advocates to the president. He befriends the president and pushes an agenda. He was – it is a giant loss for the country. And Andrea highlights these bipartisan relationships, though. [00:44:44] Speaker 9: You know, my heart goes out to his family, but also to Congress, because Lindsey Graham had the unique ability to establish relationships on both sides of the outright. I always like to say it's difficult to hate up close, and he was a prime example of that. When I served as an impeachment manager in President Trump's first trial, Lindsey Graham went out of his way to establish a relationship with me, to talk about his experience as an impeachment manager. He knew I was the only non-lawyer, and he wanted me to feel comfortable. And though we were on different teams, he was cheering me on. He's going to be missed. [00:45:17] Speaker 1: Well, we could talk about him, I know, all morning, and unfortunately – One last thing, though. [00:45:21] Speaker 4: The last time I talked to him was he was calling me to give me condolences a few weeks ago on my husband's loss. [00:45:27] Speaker 1: He worked across the aisle. He says so much about him that he did that injury. [00:45:31] Speaker 10: A staple of this show, who, of course, memorably stood here the Sunday after Tim Ruster died with his friend Joe Biden on a very consequential moment for this show. He loved being on this show. Nobody loved being in the game of politics more than Lindsey Graham. It sort of made him so happy. I was texting with somebody this morning. I said, did anybody love being in the Senate and have more fun in the Senate in the history of the body? And I'm not sure anybody did. [00:45:59] Speaker 1: I'm not sure anybody did. It's beautifully stated to all of you. Thank you so much to our panel for those thoughts. When we come back, my thoughts on what Senator Graham meant to meet the press. As we reflect on the life and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham, we here at Meet the Press want to extend our deepest condolences to his friends, his family, and his colleagues. Senator Graham was not only a fixture on Capitol Hill, but on this broadcast as well. He was scheduled to appear on the show this morning for what would have been his 64th appearance. Senator Graham was one of this show's most frequent guests, second only to his dear friend, the late Senator John McCain. During his last appearance on the show this past May, we presented him with a photo that previously hung in the Meet the Press green room from a joint appearance with Senator McCain in 2017. It was a fitting moment for a senator who understood the power of this program. Senator Graham was a frequent guest because he believed in the idea that democracy is strengthened when we continue the conversation, even when we disagree. That is all for today. Thank you so much for watching, because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press. [00:47:12] Speaker 8: We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.