O'Reilly reflects on Sen. Lindsey Graham's legacy of public service — NewsNation Prime

[0:00] For more, we are joined on the phone by Bill O'Reilly, anchor of No Spin News and host of [0:04] We'll Do It Live. Bill, always good to see you. I know you've known Lindsey for quite some time, [0:09] but recently you sat down with Senator Graham for a long-form interview on We'll Do It Live. [0:14] I was watching it. It's a great conversation. We'll be getting into it, [0:17] but I want to start with your reaction to this devastating and sudden news. [0:23] Well, I didn't hear that well. I don't really hang with politicians. I have to cover them. [0:30] But every time I was in his presence, he was engaging, and he didn't lie at all. That's what [0:39] people need to know here. Lindsey Graham's policy bent to Winston Churchill. They're not the same [0:52] guy, and obviously Churchill went through World War II and all that, but they both believe that [0:58] evil fronted by power, hard power, where there are a lot of politicians that believe in soft power. [1:08] Barack Obama was one of those, that you wear people down and you try to do everything you can, [1:14] boycotts and all of this stuff to convince them. Graham was not in that corner. Graham was allied [1:22] with McCain, the late Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat, and they were convinced the only way [1:29] that the world was for the United States to use its military power when necessary, like [1:39] after 9-11, that kind of thing. He was also a staunch ally of Israel. He despised it because he [1:53] understood the nature and the evil that this country was wreaking upon the world. He despised [2:03] as Adolf Hitler-like, would never stand to get territory, trying to take over countries. [2:12] The thing that I respect about Senator Graham, even though I may have disagreed with him on some [2:20] issues, was that he was upfront about it. There wasn't any stealth stuff. It was like, OK, [2:27] this is what I believe. This is why I believe it. And he would have won, in my opinion, South Carolina, [2:33] out of the election pretty easily. And I think the Republican will win there as well, whoever runs. [2:40] Yeah, there's no doubt he was a foreign policy hawk. Senator Graham will be remembered for his [2:46] vision of American foreign policy, so often traveling overseas to meet with our allies. [2:51] Like Joe Khalil just mentioned, he just returned from Ukraine. He explained to you [2:55] why being involved on the international side was so important. I want to listen to a part of that [3:00] interview with you, Bill. Because why are you over there? We need you here. Why are you supporting [3:07] them over there when we're paying more gas prices here? And I say, the reason I go over there is I [3:12] don't want another 9-11. The last time we took our eye off the ball over there, they killed 3,000 [3:18] Americans. Then I end every conversation with this thought. Do you think if the Aitola had a nuclear [3:23] weapon, he'd use it? Most people say yes. Well, let's make sure he doesn't do it. And how do you do that [3:27] sitting over here? I make an argument for smart intervention. [3:33] Bill, like you mentioned, you've covered many politicians. You've covered Senator Graham for [3:38] quite some time. Any politicians like him left? He seems like one of very few left. [3:46] Yeah, he's an old-time guy. He didn't have to worry about re-election, which is always a big [3:54] tell for anybody in the Senate or the House. So he didn't have to nuance himself. He knew he was in. [4:01] He knew the people of South Carolina, respected him. If you look at his wife's resume, I mean, [4:08] my God, all the public service. He was a JAG. And then he adopts his daughter eight years younger [4:17] because his two parents had died and his daughter was, you know, adrift. So he's in college and he [4:24] and he adopts her. I mean, the guy has a resume of achievement politically, but he's also a man [4:34] I respected because I saw him do a lot of good things. He talked a lot about the Middle East. [4:41] He talked to you about his vision as well. Let's listen to that. The center of Islam is Saudi Arabia, [4:50] the Holy Mosque and Mecca and Medina. It is the center of Islam. If the center of Islam would [4:56] recognize the one and only Jewish state, Israel, it would effectively end the Arab-Israeli conflict [5:02] that's been raging for a thousand plus years. During Biden's administration, Joe Biden, I went to Saudi [5:11] and Israel eight times with Tony Blinken, Brett McGurk, Jake Sullivan, to try to build on the Abraham [5:19] Accords to get Saudi to come into the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel. [5:24] Are we closer to this vision now than we were when Graham started his career in Washington, Bill? [5:31] No, yeah, because he's now attacking the Arab states in the Gulf. Just today, Oman, [5:41] a country that's hapless, doesn't really have anything to do with geopolitics. You know, [5:47] Iran, because they can't get us, goes after it, Oman. So, Lindsey Graham's vision was fairly [5:57] for those who want to understand it. He believed that the Jewish who exist, number one, and that [6:08] came off of World War II, where you had six million Jews exterminated and another million or so wandering [6:16] around Europe with nowhere to go. And Harry Truman and Winston Churchill saved them by giving them [6:25] Israel as a functioning state, that is, including Saudi Arabia. And to this day, we're still dealing [6:34] with that. The Trump administration wants to put an end to that strike and Lindsey Graham on that. But [6:45] he never wavered in his blazer right to exist and is against it. He's on the terrorists trying to [7:00] exterminate as many Jews as possible. That's what belief was for Senator Graham. [7:08] In the last few hours, we've seen tributes pour in from both sides of the aisle. Senator Graham wasn't [7:15] afraid to reach across the aisle. We've been hearing a lot about that in the last few hours. Here's his [7:20] take on bipartisanship in the three decades he spent in government. So, I tried to help Biden [7:29] deal with Saudi, you know, Israel. I was in the gang of eight for immigration. I've done some things [7:35] that our base doesn't like because somebody's got to solve these problems. He resounded as the [7:41] problem solver. That's how he described himself. That's how many people described him. You believe [7:47] being a problem solver will be a major part of the senator's legacy? That because the problems are [7:55] still there, they haven't been solved. And I think the attempt was certainly noble. [8:03] But as I said in the beginning of this conversation, Lindsey Graham's a hard power guy. All right, [8:12] that's what he believes. The planet has to be policed by the United States and others who are noble, [8:23] and the villains have to be confronted. Now, in our country, we've got to split on that. So, [8:31] you're going to see that the people who believe the way Lindsey Graham believed are going to respect [8:36] him. And Coons, he's a Democratic senator from Delaware. Reid, you mentioned, from Rhode Island. [8:43] They liked him because he wasn't bellicose in person. He wasn't that way. Okay? So, they liked him as a [8:50] person. So, I think legacy will go down as a positive legacy, but you'll get the cheap shot [8:59] left going after him for the next few days or so. You touched on what an interesting [9:05] upbringing he had. He lost both his parents in college. He was the first one to attend college. [9:12] Like you mentioned, he took guardianship of his younger sister. He explained this to you on We'll [9:16] Do It Live. Let's play that. I'm the first person in my family to ever go to college. [9:22] Neither one of my parents finished high school. When I was 21, my mom died. When I was 22, my dad died. [9:29] We owned a liquor store, a bar, and a pool room, and we grew up in the back. We were a happy family, [9:35] but by no means wealthy. I know what it's like to be needing all the money you can because the bills [9:41] keep coming in no matter what. So, when my mom died, she was 17 years younger than my dad. I thought, [9:47] well, that shouldn't happen, but it did. Okay, my dad's 60-something, and I've got a 13-year-old sister. [9:54] 15 months later, he's dead, and I got a 13-year-old sister. My life turned upside down. So, [9:59] how do you pay the bills? How is she going to college? What are you going to do? [10:03] I understand that. I understand that the world can change, and it can be pulled out from you under a rug. [10:09] That is an incredible story. You've covered him for so long, Bill. How do you believe [10:16] events like that shaped how he was a politician, but also a person? [10:20] ...of the South. In the South, I'm generalizing now, but it's true, [10:32] are different than here in New York, in California, or wherever it may be. Family is a top party for most. [10:48] Lindsey Graham did what he should have done, but what was the society in which he lived? The South Carolina [11:02] folks understood that, so they cut him some slack. So, you know, in Iraq, in particular, [11:17] Graham was wrong, but they didn't hold it against him because he made his case. He wasn't, again, [11:27] you know, trying to—it didn't work out, but he was the same guy who helped the South. That means [11:42] everything. We've been showing pictures of him with Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman. Of course, [11:48] the three of them were famously known as the Three Amigos. Bill, we've been talking about, [11:54] or the question is coming out much more being discussed of what happens next. South Carolina [11:59] Governor Henry McMaster will soon be choosing someone to replace Graham until November's election. [12:04] Undoubtedly, we'll have several people jumping in the race for the special GOP primary to be the [12:09] midterm candidate as well. Senator Graham talked to you about how much politics have changed in the [12:15] last few decades. I want to play that as well. When I first started this business, you got rewarded for [12:23] problem solving and, you know, sort of knowing what you're talking about. All the energy now is to loud, [12:32] not knowledgeable, just loud. If you're running in a primary right now, your goal is to get as many [12:38] eyeballs as you can. And how do you get eyeballs in this world? Be provocative. Provocative is replaced [12:45] problem solving. Knowing how much South Carolinians loved him, do you think they hope to put in his [12:55] place someone with similar ideals? Yeah, I think the Republican will take that seat. I don't know [13:05] about the woman running against him, was running against him. I don't know her. She looks like a very [13:16] competent person to me. But I think that when people in South Carolina go to the polls in November, [13:24] Lindsey Graham is still going to loom large. And as long as the nominee on the Republican side [13:32] pretty much to him in his presentation or her, could be a woman, of course, okay, [13:44] I think that will carry that person into the Senate. President Trump took to Truth Social saying this, [13:52] quote, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known is dead. [13:58] He was always working and was a true American patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed. [14:02] The senator grew from staunch critic to one of Trump's closest allies. He was even nicknamed [14:06] Trump's the Trump whisperer here and there. Bill, do you know when that relationship changed? [14:11] Be president and that didn't happen. Um, so Trump beat him. And then Graham being a very savvy [14:25] politician goes, well, there's a cliche. If you can't beat him, you join him. So I'm going to try [14:31] to persuade President Trump to use the high, hard power option when he can. Trump has not always held [14:42] to that, interestingly enough. Trump listened to Senator Graham. I was on about a year ago. Um, [14:54] and the president listened to Senator Graham, um, but he wasn't rubber stamping because, uh, [15:03] he doesn't like foreign intervention wars. He doesn't like all that. Whereas Graham at one time [15:12] advocated that we take over Afghanistan and we stay there for him. Graham was a little bit, uh, [15:19] further out on the, uh, on the, uh, aggressive side than President Trump was. But Trump respects, [15:31] no question about it. Yeah, there's no doubt of the respect both and admiration both men [15:40] had for each other. Bill O'Reilly, anchor of No Spin News and host of We'll Do It Live. [15:45] Thank you so much for your time tonight, Bill. We really appreciate it. Not many people covered [15:48] him for as long as you did. And thank you.