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Washington, DC – When harmful Hurricane Helene on the southeast coast of the United States in 2024, the late Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on Fox News to discuss the effects of the natural disaster in South Carolina.
For five minutes, he expressed anger and frustration at what he described as failures by then-Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration in responding to the hurricane.
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Then, unexpectedly, he shifted the conversation from the problems of his homeland to concerns about Israel in the midst of genocide. war in Gaza.
Graham said: “I’ve been walking around South Carolina like most people sleep, but look at what’s happening in Israel.”
“Our friends in Israel, surrounded by people who want to kill them, destroy them, a second Holocaust is happening, and Biden is saying, ‘Be equal.’ How will the people who want to kill you and your family respond accordingly? Israel is running out of bullets. We have to help our friends.”
The Republican Senatorwho died of a “short and sudden illness” late Saturday, according to his office, always seemed to find a way to focus on his advocacy and commitment to Israel.
Over the years of his career, Graham supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003, strongly opposed Russia and China, called for unwavering and unconditional support for Israel, and was one of the most vocal proponents of the war on Iran.
Michael Hanna, director of US programs at the International Crisis Group think tank, said two things Graham is working on will define the former senator’s legacy: his advocacy for military intervention, and his support for the president. Donald Trump.
“He has had a long history of rhetoric and push for solutions to US foreign policy problems,” Hanna said.
“He was a big supporter of the Iraq war, and he’s been a big proponent of the use of the military since then. That’s obvious. Yes, in the last months of his life, he’s been very active in pressuring Donald Trump to use the military. against Iran.”
After decades of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, many US politicians – including Trump, who has promised to be a peaceful president – have avoided appearing as if they want war. Not Graham. He remained steadfast in favor of military action, especially in the Middle East.
Earlier this year, when Graham called on the US military to join Israel in bombing Lebanon, Republican Senator Tim Burchett was impressed by the senator’s enthusiasm for war.
“Lindsey Graham has never seen a punch that she didn’t want to make like a bomb,” Burchett told reporters.
Pro-Israel views
Unreserved support for Israel has been a central tenet of US foreign policy since 9/11. And Graham did the same.
Republicans often make a show of calling for military aid to US allies.
After 2021 The attack on Israel on Gaza which killed hundreds of Palestinians, Graham went to Israel and stood next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a sign that said, “More for Israel”.
He then raised $1bn in funding for the US military in the country.
On Sunday, Netanyahu encouraged Graham, saying the Republican lawmaker often seeks more US aid to Israel than his government wants or needs.
Netanyahu told Fox News that Graham had “stepped up” when the Israeli prime minister told him he would force an end to US military aid to Israel.
“He was very concerned about our security, which he believed to be your security, so he fought with the Israeli prime minister to keep America’s aid, or to increase it,” Netanyahu said.
Several Israeli officials, including the right-wing Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvirpraised Graham posthumously.
At times, Graham’s pro-Israel support turned into outright anger and removing people the Palestinians. Several times, he compared the Palestinians to the Nazis and said that dropping a nuclear bomb on them would be appropriate.
“Why is it okay for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their terrible war? Why was it okay for us to do that? I thought it was okay,” he told NBC News in 2024.
“So, Israel, do whatever you can to survive as a Jewish state.”
Most of the treaties that make up international humanitarian law were established after World War II to prohibit atrocities committed during that war, including genocide and the use of nuclear weapons.
But for Graham, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to what Israel can offer the Palestinians.
“We are in a religious war here. I am with Israel. Do whatever you can to protect yourself. he said At the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
Hatem Abudayyeh, national chairman of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), described Graham as “another criminal who met his end by contributing to death and destruction around the world”.
“Lindsay Graham has spent her career advocating war, occupation and murder, and the fact that she is favored by murderous monsters like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu speaks volumes,” Abudayyeh told Al Jazeera.
Despite his anti-Palestinian rhetoric, Graham’s colleagues — including many Democrats — praised him for his intelligence and morals.
Trump deal
Graham seems to despise the Iranian government as much as he respects Israel.
In January, the Senate met with Mr. Trump and signed the President and hold the hat which said “Make Iran Great Again” – a message that signaled support for regime change in Tehran.
A few weeks later, the US and Israel began bombing Iran, and Graham emerged as one of the most aggressive fighters.
Hanna said Graham was one of many people who managed to convince Trump to go to war with Iran, citing lobbying efforts. Netanyahu and Israeli commentator Mark Levin.
“He had the ear of the president, so I’d say he’s powerful.” “But Trump, as he often says, is the choice,” Hanna said.
“I think it’s hard to say that Lindsey Graham will follow a single plan. There were a lot of people who were pushing this fight – among them, Lindsey Graham.”
Graham regularly met and played golf with Trump, and the two Republicans were often friendly. But their friendship was not always smooth.
When Graham was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, he called Trump an “arrogant, religious fanatic”.
“I think he’s delusional. I think he’s crazy. I don’t think he should be in office,” Graham said during the campaign.
But when Trump won the Republican nomination and the presidency, unifying his party, Graham became one of his most loyal friends.
The former senator’s interactions with the president drew anger and criticism from Democrats and Trump haters, who accused him of abandoning his policies to please the president.
Graham was a close friend of the Senator John McCainwho died in 2018 and was often mocked and abused by Trump.
Hanna said the close relationship between Trump and Graham is still surprising.
“A lot of people have been wondering about the reason for this change and what Lindsey Graham got out of it. It’s strange,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I think the power and proximity to power is always understandable. But I still have some big questions that aren’t being answered outright.”
Trump has praised Graham since his death, and on Monday, asked South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to nominate the late senator’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill his seat until his term expires early next year.
“This would be a wonderful tribute to Lindsey, who she loved so much,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
McMaster answered the call.
Will Graham’s absence change politics?
Nordone succeeded his brother, signaling continuity between Trump and the Republican Party.
But the former senator stood up to the growing trend of war even within the Republican Party. He was one of the people who fought in Iran, which remained not very popularaccording to many public surveys.
For moderates who opposed the war campaign abroad, Graham came to symbolize the party’s conservative wing.
“History will remember Lindsey Graham for his great commitment to the American cause,” right-wing columnist Tucker Carlson wrote in his article, noting that the late senator was in Ukraine the day before his death.
“He felt strongly that the US government should focus on the needs of countries other than the United States, and he maintained that belief until his dying day.”
Hanna said that while Graham is flexible like one of 100 US senatorshis death reflects the division of parents on foreign affairs in the United States.
Polls show that young Republicans and Democrats are less likely to support military intervention with Israel.
“There’s an exciting time of conflict, not just between parties, but within parties,” Hanna said. “Of course there is a natural component to this.”
He added that Graham was a senior Republican “with clear views on the use of force and military intervention and support for Israel”.
“So I guess you know that his death would be a problem.”
