Trump immortalizes ‘legend’ Lindsey Graham in rare emotional tribute

President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the late Senator Lindsey Graham as a bipartisan lawmaker and ‘legend’ who rose from humble roots to become a powerful force to be reckoned with in the US Senate. 

‘He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart,’ Trump said of Graham, the late South Carolina Republican who died unexpectedly earlier this month at 71. ‘Until that heart itself just gave out.’ 

‘While he was always quick to laugh, no one ever doubted the gravity of his mission to all in a strong America,’ Trump said of Graham during a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral. 

‘There’s probably not a single town in South Carolina where Lindsey did not help repair a bridge, expand a school, improve a hospital, or recover from a disaster,’ Trump said of Graham, who served for more than two decades in the Senate.

Trump and Graham did not start out as friends, the President noted during his eulogy. In fact, their relationship began on much rockier terrain during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. 

Then-candidate Graham blasted Trump as a ‘kook’ who was ‘unfit for office’ – and Trump, in response, shared Graham’s personal phone number while onstage at a campaign rally.

‘I shared his personal cell phone number with the millions of people that happened to be watching that particular day,’ Trump recounted of the incident, which forced Graham to change his phone number for the first time in 20 years. ‘That was the beginning of a friendship, in a way,’ Trump said.

‘But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh,’ he added. ‘Because while I blew up his phone call for one day … Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years.’

President Donald Trump speaks with Vice President JD Vance before delivering his eulogy at a memorial service at the National Cathedral for the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham 

The late South Carolina Republican died unexpectedly earlier this month at 71

Former Vice President Mike Pence greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a funeral service for Graham at the Washington National Cathedral 

Netanyahu speaks to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Cathedral ahead of Graham’s funeral 

He ‘was a force of nature, and I will miss him greatly,’ Trump said.

Trump’s remarks cap a two-day series of funerals for Graham in Washington and in the Palmetto State, where he will be laid to rest.  

A number of high-profile attendees were seen streaming into the National Cathedral before services began, including current and former administration officials, foreign leaders, and Cabinet officials.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation Graham helped push through the Senate Judiciary Committee years earlier, was seated in the front row alongside his wife, Ashley. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were also in attendance. 

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Other big names included Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche were seated together in the second row.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were also seated near the front of the cathedral.

Graham’s niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, described Graham as the ‘foundation’ of their family who attended their family vacations, holidays, proms, graduations, and even volleyball games, regardless of how busy his schedule was. ‘He was there for all of it,’ she told attendees.

Since Graham’s parents died while her own mother was young and Graham was in college, she said, ‘Lindsey became brother, father and mother to my mother overnight.’

‘He held more than one role for each of us. He wasn’t just an uncle, a brother, a nephew, he was the foundation of our family,’ she said. ‘In our family, when you needed advice, a problem solved or a helping hand, you turned to Lindsey.’

Boggs Roberts laughingly recounted how Graham DJ’d several songs at her wedding, and approached their family vacations at full throttle. ‘On Disney trips, we had to be the first ones, and we took the last bus out,’ she said.

‘To be loved by Lindsey was to be truly blessed,’ she said.

Earlier, Graham’s former Senate colleagues honored his life and career at a smaller ceremony held in the Senate Rotunda. That memorial was, at times, highly emotional, as many in the chamber remembered the years they spent working alongside Graham, and walked around his casket to say their final goodbyes.

‘I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Graham at the Capitol tribute, pausing briefly as he choked back tears.

White House staffers and a bipartisan group of US Senators looked on during Graham’s funeral

Senator Darline Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, teared up as she sat alongside her husband and one of her daughters at the Washington National Cathedral 

Vice President JD Vance also spoke at the service. ‘I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them, and ultimately to persuade them,’ the vice president said.

Lindsey’s death was announced just after 2am Eastern time on July 12.

The cause of death was aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement issued by his office at 5pm.

‘The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized, and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,’ a spokesman for Graham’s office said at the time.

Emillie Boggs Roberts, Graham’s niece, delivered heartfelt remarks at the Washington National Cathedral about her late uncle on Tuesday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Lawmakers paid tribute to Graham at the US Capitol earlier in the day