Special Report: The political legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham

[0:00] This is an NBC News special report. Here's Willie Geist. [0:09] Good morning. We're coming on the air with the breaking news that Republican Senator Lindsey [0:13] Graham of South Carolina has died. Emergency responders rushed to the senator's Washington [0:18] home on Saturday evening after a report of a person suffering cardiac arrest. Graham's family [0:25] released a statement several hours later announcing the senator had died after a brief and sudden [0:30] illness. His death sending shockwaves across Washington this morning and in the 71-year-old [0:36] senator's home state of South Carolina. Let's get right to NBC's Julie Serkin with more on what we [0:41] know. Julie, good morning. Willie, good morning. And the senator did so much for the people of [0:46] South Carolina over his four terms in the Senate, more years spent in the House before that. [0:52] Senator Lindsey Graham, before he was even a lawmaker, he rose to prominence as a lawyer in [0:57] impeachment trial of Bill Clinton. He was a military lawyer by trade. He was still in the [1:01] reserves when he got to Congress. That's what shaped his foreign policy views, which were very [1:07] hawkish, Willie, in the last several years since the war began in Ukraine. He has somehow maintained [1:13] being a close ally of President Trump, pushing him on Ukraine, pushing him to side with President [1:19] Zelensky, and at the same time, able to maintain a relationship with those across the aisle. And that [1:26] is, Willie, what makes this news so shocking and so devastating for the fact that Senator Lindsey [1:31] Graham, who provided so many services for his constituents in South Carolina, brought so many [1:36] jobs to that state. Also, somebody viewed as a hawk on matters from Ukraine to the Middle East. He [1:42] often, Willie, told me about, especially after the October 7th attacks, about how he wanted a [1:47] normalization deal for the region in the Middle East. He had pushed the president in the last several [1:53] weeks and even dating back to February to take those strikes, decisive strikes in Iran to take out [1:58] that supreme leader there. No doubt, Willie, that Graham has been an enormous influence on the president, [2:04] one of the very few remaining that has been able to essentially hold the president's ear on topics that [2:11] other Republicans have shied away from. And this morning, of course, we heard from the president who said it is so [2:17] sad to hear the news of Senator Graham's passing, just turning 71 years old, Willie, a couple of days [2:23] ago, returning from Kiev, where he toured drone production facilities with President Zelensky, [2:28] announcing at the end of that meeting with Zelensky, good news that the White House agreed after more [2:33] than a year to move bipartisan legislation in Congress that would issue sanctions on Russian oil. [2:40] And that, according to Graham, has been something that has been funding Putin's war in Ukraine. [2:43] So just a massive influence in the Senate, in Washington, D.C., in South Carolina, [2:48] and around the world, Willie. And part of that service, more than 30 years in the Air Force [2:53] Reserve. Julie Serkin at the White House. Julie, thanks so much. Senator Graham had been a scheduled [2:58] guest on Meet the Press this morning. Let's turn to Kristen Welker, moderator of that program. [3:03] Kristen, good morning. It feels very early to be talking about legacy. This news is so fresh and so [3:07] shocking to many people waking up. But let's talk a little bit about Senator Graham and the long road [3:13] he's taken through South Carolina and in Washington, a convert on President Trump. They ran against each [3:18] other in the 2016 presidential election. He was very critical. But now one of those senators, [3:23] as Julie was just saying, who does have the president's ear on some matters. [3:28] Absolutely, Willie. What a shocking and devastating morning here in the nation's capital, [3:34] which will undoubtedly send shockwaves all across the country. Senator Lindsey Graham [3:38] was one of the most consequential senators in U.S. history. As you say, he actually ran against [3:46] then-candidate Trump all the way back in 2015. But he did become an early convert. And Willie, [3:52] from that moment forward, he became one of President Trump's closest and staunchest allies. [3:57] I spoke with President Trump briefly on the phone today. He will be joining us on Meet the Press to [4:03] reflect on Senator Graham's life and legacy. And one of the points that Senator Graham wanted to [4:10] discuss, which I also discussed with President Trump, was Iran. Senator Graham had, as Julie just [4:16] said, just been traveling overseas. He was in Ankara where the NATO summit was underway. He visited with [4:23] President Zelensky. He had a very hawkish view on these matters, Willie. I spoke to Senator Graham [4:30] multiple times this week. He did not have confidence in the negotiations and in the negotiators in Iran [4:37] themselves. And he was advocating for a more robust military response to what we have seen in Iran. [4:46] And if he were here today, that is what we would be talking about, Willie. He will not be. But we still [4:52] plan to have some of those discussions, which he really put at the forefront. And I think one of the [4:58] questions becomes, where do those debates go from here without that voice in the room, without that [5:04] voice in the ear on the golf course with President Trump. But he also had an impact on domestic policy [5:10] as well. He was on the Judiciary Committee. And so he really touched a wide swath of Washington [5:19] politics, Willie. He certainly will be missed there in Washington and in South Carolina as well, [5:25] Kristen. This now raises the question, back home in South Carolina, what happens now? Again, [5:30] feels very early to be talking about this, but there will be a decision to be made by the governor [5:34] there. That's right. Temporary replacement and then a special election will be held. Look, [5:41] this is a reliably red seat, so it's hard to see it changing hands. Of course, you never know what [5:47] could potentially happen. But Senator Graham was fighting for his fifth term in office. Gives you a sense of [5:55] just how long he served in the Senate before being a member of Congress before that. And he was [6:01] someone who was acutely aware of the power of the Trump base. In fact, during the primary, he was [6:07] running against someone who was trying to cast himself as being a part of the MAGA base. But [6:14] Senator Lindsey Graham had the endorsement of President Trump, and so he did win his primary [6:19] quite handily. He was locked in a general election bid. And so the question becomes who will replace [6:28] him. That's part of what we will be unpacking. But this is an extraordinary moment, Willie. [6:32] You have former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's hospitalized right now. Questions [6:37] about when and whether he will return. It is worth noting this would have been Senator Graham's 64th [6:44] appearance, making him the second most frequent guest to his dear friend, John McCain. [6:50] Wow. Yeah, those two were running mates for so much time together there in that building in the [6:56] Capitol behind you. Kristen Welker, thanks so much. Kristen, we'll be covering, of course, [7:00] the death of Senator Graham on Meet the Press with that interview of President Trump. And we will have [7:04] much more coming up on Sunday today and throughout the day on NBCnews.com. For now, we send our [7:10] condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Senator Lindsey Graham. I'm Willie Geist. This has [7:15] been an NBC News Special Report. We thank you for watching. And remember, stay updated on breaking news [7:25] and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.