BREAKING: Trump says he already has Graham’s replacement picked just hours after his death
Lindsey Graham had been dead for less than twelve hours when Trump started talking about who would take his seat.
Speaking by phone to NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press Sunday morning, Trump revealed he already has a successor in mind for the South Carolina senator, who died Saturday night from what his office called a brief and sudden illness. “I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don’t want to say it now because it’s too soon with Lindsey,” Trump said.
He then said it again. “I have somebody that I like, but I’m not gonna tell you who now because it’s too soon.”
Graham was 71. He had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Zelenskyy on Friday, and was scheduled to appear on Meet the Press Sunday morning for what would have been his 64th appearance on the broadcast. Instead, Trump called in to discuss the man he once called one of his fiercest allies, and spent part of the interview teasing his replacement.
Graham spent the last decade transforming himself from one of Trump’s harshest critics into what he called Trump’s “North Star” in the Senate. He warned in 2016 that Republicans would “get destroyed” if they nominated Trump, then spent years defending him on every cable network that would have him.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster will appoint an interim senator to serve until January 2027, with a special election expected to determine who fills the seat long term. Trump praised McMaster in the same interview, noting the governor “endorsed me right from the beginning,” and predicted he would “do the right thing.”
For a man who built his political identity on loyalty to Trump, Graham’s final measure of that loyalty came within hours of his passing: a president on the phone with a television host, already floating the name he won’t say out loud.
Trump says he already has Graham’s replacement picked just hours after his death
