Lindsey Graham Infuriated and Charmed His Critics

Consider that, just a decade ago, Lindsey Graham was a dyed-in-the-wool opponent of Donald Trump. The self-described “wingman” of the late Senator John McCain ran in the Republican presidential primaries of 2015 and called Trump “the world’s biggest jackass.” Trump, in turn, gave out Graham’s cellphone number at a televised rally and prompted so many people to call it that Graham had to destroy his phone. In the 2016 election, Graham voted for independent Evan McMullen, a “Never Trumper” who won 0.56 percent of the national vote.

Flash forward to today. By the time of his death, Graham had become one of the leading defenders of President Trump. Slate called him “an Olympian bootlicker.” Graham laughed it off: “I like him, and he likes him.” More seriously, he explained his pivot to the New York Times Magazine in 2019, saying: “From my point of view, if you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this.” By “this,” he meant “to try to be relevant.”

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John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

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Lindsey Graham

Consider that, just a decade ago, Lindsey Graham was a dyed-in-the-wool opponent of Donald Trump. The self-described “wingman” of the late Senator John McCain ran in the Republican presidential primaries of 2015 and called Trump “the world’s biggest jackass.” Trump, in turn, gave out Graham’s cellphone number at a televised rally and prompted so many people to call it that Graham had to destroy his phone. In the 2016 election, Graham voted for independent Evan McMullen, a “Never Trumper” who won 0.56 percent of the national vote.

Flash forward to today. By the time of his death, Graham had become one of the leading defenders of President Trump. Slate called him “an Olympian bootlicker.” Graham laughed it off: “I like him, and he likes him.” More seriously, he explained his pivot to the New York Times Magazine in 2019, saying: “From my point of view, if you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this.” By “this,” he meant “to try to be relevant.”