What made US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham a controversial figure 

Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator in the United States, has died after a “brief and sudden” illness, his office said.

A foe-turned-close-ally of President Donald Trump, the 71-year-old politician represented the US state of South Carolina and was up for re-election in midterm elections in November.

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on his social media early on Sunday. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”

Known for his hawkish defence and foreign policy views, Graham strongly supported Ukraine in its war with Russia and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. He has also called for a “regime change” in Iran and endorsed US-Israeli military strikes on the country.

Graham’s actions and public statements, therefore, made him a controversial political figure not just in the US, but across the world.

Here’s what we know:

Support for Israel

In his staunch support for Israel, Graham made many controversial remarks.

In 2017, a year before the first Trump administration moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Graham had signed a resolution backing the move and called Jerusalem “the undeniable capital of Israel”.

“Moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem is not inconsistent with any peace proposal. It is consistent with the reality – as I and many others understand it – that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem,” he said.

The US move to relocate its embassy was heavily criticised by the Palestinians and several Gulf nations.

Graham was also supportive of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. In July 2024, when protests to stop the war raged around the world, including in the US, he made some controversial anti-Palestinian remarks on social media.

“The Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalised population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth. It will take years to fix this problem,” Graham had said in a post on X.

“When I hear ‘From the river to the sea,’ it reminds me of the ‘Final Solution.’ The Hamas terrorists are the SS on steroids,” he added, drawing a comparison to a Nazi paramilitary organisation, the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Graham had also suggested that Israel would be justified in using nuclear weapons on Gaza, where Israeli attacks since October 2023 have not stopped, despite a “ceasefire” signed with Hamas in October.

“Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids,” he had said.

Israel’s Defence Ministry on Sunday said it was saddened by the death of Graham, “who stood with Israel in its most difficult time”.

Backing US-Israeli war on Iran

The US senator was also supportive of the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

Shortly after Iran was attacked on February 28, Graham said it was worth spending money to “take this regime down”.

“When this regime goes down, we are going to have a new Middle East, and we are going to make a tonne of money,” Graham, who was a longtime proponent of US military interventions abroad, had told the Fox News network.

“This regime is in a death throe now; it is gonna be on its knees, it’s going to fall, and when it falls, we’re going to have peace like no other time, we’re going to have prosperity unlike anyone could ever imagine,” Graham had said.

Several weeks before the latest war on Iran began, Graham made numerous trips to Israel to meet members of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.

“They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me,” he said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Graham also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during these trips, “coaching him on how to lobby the president [Trump] for action”.

Netanyahu then showed Trump intelligence that “persuaded” him to launch the joint war on Iran, the US senator had claimed.

In response to the US-Israeli attacks, Iran has been attacking US assets in Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

Recently, Graham had called on the UAE and Saudi Arabia to launch strikes on Iran.

“I want them to get into the fight. We sell them weapons. Iran is striking their country; they have good capability,” he said.

Last week, Graham criticised Saudi Arabia for not joining the war on Iran.

“Americans are dying and the US is spending billions to dislodge the terrorist Iranian regime that threatens the region. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia seems to be issuing statements and doing things in the background that are marginally helpful,” he posted on X.

“Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”

Supporter of wars in Gulf, North Africa

Besides Iran, Graham also backed US military interventions in the Gulf and North Africa for the past two decades, including the disastrous 2003 Iraq War that devastated the Arab country.

More than 270,000 Iraqi civilians were killed as a direct result of the war. US troops withdrew partially in 2009, although some of them remained to train Iraqi security forces.

Graham also backed US military interventions in Syria and Libya.

A divided Libya is controlled by two competing factions, while Syria’s transitional government has been able to extend control over most parts of the country recently under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syria is transitioning to a new government after the ouster of longtime President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. More than 300,000 people were killed in Syria’s war, and about half of its pre-war population was displaced, causing a refugee crisis that reached Europe.

Russia’s war on Ukraine

Graham was among the US Congress’s strongest advocates for military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

A day before his death on Saturday evening, he had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. “This is already his 10th visit to our country, and we appreciate this support,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

In March 2023, Russia put Graham on a wanted list, according to Russian media reports citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Moscow’s move came after Ukraine’s presidential office released an edited video of a meeting between Graham and Zelenskyy, which showed the US senator saying, “The Russians are dying”, and also that the US support to Ukraine was the “best money we’ve ever spent”.

Graham responded to the Russian move by saying he would wear the “arrest warrant” as a “badge of honour”.

“To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” he wrote, challenging Russian authorities to pursue their case at the International Criminal Court, which has already issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

“Come and make your best case,” Graham quipped. “See you in The Hague!”

From Trump critic to loyalist

While Graham has been supportive of the US president’s recent international policies, he used to be a Trump critic not long ago.

While seeking the Republican presidential nomination himself in 2015, Graham had famously denounced Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic” bigot and a “jackass”.

As Trump, during his presidential campaign, called for a ban on all Muslims entering the US, Graham told reporters: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.”

But the two later forged a close political and personal relationship, becoming frequent golfing partners and close confidants.

After meeting Trump in March 2017, Graham posted on X: “President Trump is strongly committed to rebuilding our military which is music to my ears.”

Since then until his death on Saturday, Graham supported the US military interventions in the Gulf, heavy tariffs on countries supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine, and even controversial domestic policies on immigration, among others.

Asked in February by US media outlet NBC News how he maintains his relationship with Trump, Graham had said: “Well, one, be mildly entertaining. Play golf. And understand he’s been a great president.”

“Sometimes I don’t agree,” he said. “You know what we have in common? I like him, and he likes him.”