Lindsey Graham’s legacy: Israel advocate, Trump ally, Iran war supporter

When the devastating Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern shores of the United States in 2024, the late Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on Fox News to discuss the aftermath of the natural disaster in South Carolina.

For five minutes, he expressed anger and frustration at what he presented as failures by the administration of then-Democratic President Joe Biden in responding to the hurricane.
Then, unprompted, he abruptly shifted the conversation from the woes of his home state to his concern about Israel amid its genocidal war on Gaza.

“I’ve been going all over South Carolina. Like most people, I haven’t slept much. But look what’s going on in Israel,” Graham said.

“Our friends in Israel, surrounded by people that want to kill them, destroy them, a second Holocaust in the making, and Biden says, ‘Be proportional.’ What is the proportional response to people who want to kill you and your family? They’re running out of ammunition in Israel. We have to help our friends.”

The Republican senator, who died of a “brief and sudden illness” late on Saturday, according to his office, seemed to always find a way to stay focused on his hawkish foreign policy advocacy and devotion to Israel.

Throughout his decades-long career, Graham backed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, staunchly opposed Russia and China, called for unflinching and unlimited support for Israel, and was one of the most vocal cheerleaders of the war on Iran.

Michael Hanna, US programme director at the International Crisis Group think tank, said two elements of Graham’s career will define the late senator’s legacy: his advocacy for military interventions, and his staunch support for President Donald Trump.