Hunter Biden Recalls Pre-Trump Graham Era
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Hunter Biden shared memories on Sunday of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) from a "time before Donald Trump," quoting Graham's 2015 remark that Joe Biden was "the nicest person I've ever met in politics"
- During his short-lived 2016 presidential campaign, Graham had called Trump "the most flawed nominee in the history of the Republican party" and labeled him "unfit for office" and a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot"
- Graham's posture shifted dramatically over the following decade, and he became one of Trump's closest advisers in his second administration, telling Politico earlier this year he wouldn't have believed he'd become "one of his better friends, closest advisers"
- President Trump said Graham's death was a "big blow" to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, noting Graham had spoken with him about the bill hours before being pronounced dead on Saturday
- Former President Biden posted on social media remembering travels with Graham as members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, writing they "disagreed often, and sometimes loudly" but agreed "on the profound importance of public service"
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) remembered Graham's loyalty to "hard causes," calling it fitting that he died shortly after visiting Ukraine
Why it matters: Graham's death removes a Senate Republican willing to engage across the aisle just as Trump publicly identified him as a key ally on the SAVE America Act — a voter registration overhaul the president says lost its champion hours after their final conversation, narrowing the coalition Trump had been leaning on.
