Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71

We're learning that longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has passed away.His office says he died on Saturday night after what they call a brief and sudden illness.The statement says Graham's family is asking for privacy at this time.He represented the state of South Carolina in the U .S.Congress since 1995.

Let's bring in CNN's Alex Michelson, anchor of The Story Is.Alex, you are on the West Coast there.How are you processing this news that has just come in, the shocking death of a senator who had just been in Ukraine and had just met with the Ukrainian president, and now we're learning he has died?

Yeah, I mean, just posted a bunch of statements onto X yesterday in his official capacity.Pictures and images of him working over the last few weeks are out there.So this coming out of nowhere, that Lindsey Graham, one of the most important and influential voices in the United States Senate for many years.Somebody who has been one of the biggest champions of more United States military intervention.Somebody who has championed the idea of military intervention in Iran for many years.Somebody who's championed the United States relationship with Israel very closely for many years.

And now all of a sudden, You know, there's been so much conversation about Mitch McConnell's medical reality right now.Nobody would have thought.This would come now.It's been an extraordinary life of public service, a controversial life.Somebody who was in the United States House of Representatives for many years, been in the Senate for many years as well, became a close ally of John McCain and Joe Lieberman.They called themselves the three amigos and viewed themselves as sort of mavericks.

within the Republican Party.And then he ran for president in 2016 and said very negative things about Donald Trump at the time, but then would become one of President Trump's greatest allies, just this week posting on social media that he was the goat of all presidents and has been a steering force, more recently, of President Trump's military intervention in Iran.So, you know, there are 100 senators.Not all of them stand out.Lindsey Graham is somebody who has stood out for a long time and has been one of the most important members of that body for many, many years.

And he just turned 71.June 9th, he won the South Carolina Republican primary, seeking reelection for Senate.Nobody expected that he wasn't going to continue traveling, wasn't going to continue pushing the causes that are important to him.Although, as you mentioned, those priorities and those causes have certainly changed over time.Some have sort of wondered, what is Senator Lindsey Graham's center?Do you think we ever really, really knew that?

I mean, I think one thing that you've seen over the years was that he clearly felt that an activist foreign policy and being a champion of the military and more military intervention is something that he's been talking about for decades.especially the Iran issue, and we've seen what's happened with that in the last few months as well.But that has been sort of the criticism of Lindsey Graham over the years, what you're talking about.But what he's also been very, very adept at as a political practitioner was getting himself in a position of power and influence and kind of knowing where the winds were blowing within the Republican Party and heading there.and in the process, giving himself an ability to survive politically, to win election after election, and to increase his seniority in the Senate, and to have more power for the people of South Carolina.I mean, this will certainly, you know, South Carolina is a solidly Republican seat.

It's hard to imagine you know, flipping of South Carolina, North Carolina in a bit of a different place.But it's a bit early to start talking about the the political realities of what happens next, as we all, I think, are just in shock at the idea that Lindsey Graham has suddenly died and and also reflecting on a life of decades of public service.

And he was just in Ukraine.He was just meeting with the Ukrainian president.What did he accomplish on that trip?And Assuming from what we saw in all of the videos, the statements that he was making, he appeared to be in very good health, just in unusual form.There was certainly no outward indication that there was anything physically wrong.His office saying this was a very brief, sudden and brief illness, they said in their statement.

And we don't know what that means, because he was posting about President Trump's trip to NATO and conversations that he was having with folks about that.like two days ago.So how brief was this illness?We don't know what exactly that means.Is that a heart attack?You know, at this point, I think a lot of it would be speculation to try to think about that.

But yeah, I mean, Lindsey Graham, by every indication, was working up until the very last day and certainly putting out a public image that there were no issues at all.And he was very much involved in the job as a senator from South Carolina, especially on the job of the foreign relations of the United States.

And a very strong ally of President Trump, who also really knew how to turn on the Southern charm.So even when he was talking about some of these contentious and controversial issues, there was something very charming about Lindsey Graham.He was a likable guy from people that have met him, people that have interviewed him.They found him to be a very unique character, a unique personality in Washington.

Yeah, and he, I think, really liked the media and had a long -standing relationship with many folks in it.I remember interviewing him myself back in 2016 when he was running for president, and it was stunning how anti -trump he's language was uh... warning about what would happen if donald trump became president and then of course after he became president He became one of his closest allies.They would often golf together, President Trump and Lindsey Graham, and joke around on the golf course.I mean, for anybody that's met Donald Trump, he, too, is a very charming guy.And the two of them would go back and forth in terms of jokes with each other.And I think both

of them, as people who sort of appreciate politics, were able to get over all those insults that they went back and forth on and have a very productive working relationship for each other, you know, that You know, Lindsey Graham was somebody who helped to deliver for President Trump in a lot of ways in the Senate.And President Trump was very helpful for Lindsey Graham's career.As we've seen, I mean, as you mentioned, he won the South Carolina primary because there wasn't a real challenger.President Trump, as we've seen in the last few months, can endorse challengers to Republican primary opponents in the Senate and essentially end the careers of Republican senators in the process.He did that with John Cornyn in Texas.He did that with Bill Cassidy in New York.

in Louisiana, he's been a supporter of Lindsey Graham.So they were able to move past their past problems and develop a very strong working relationship.And I think Lindsey Graham is one of the senators from all the reporting that President Trump was actually in touch with most in the United States Senate as somebody who would work with him on formulating strategy on how to get things done.

And President Trump certainly loves a turnaround story, somebody who is at one point a very contentious critic and that they're trading bars back and forth.If that person then turns around and starts to praise President Trump, as Senator Lindsey Graham often did and praised him very effusively in public and often, President Trump values that relationship and he takes care of those people.