Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump: 5 moments that turned bitter rivals to trusted allies

Their relationship began on a bitter note during the 2015 Republican presidential primary, when Graham, a veteran senator, emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken Republican critics. As Trump's unconventional campaign reshaped the race, the two traded increasingly personal attacks. Graham denounced Trump as a 'race-baiting, religious bigot,' while Trump retaliated by publicly revealing the senator's cellphone number. The relationship took an unexpected turn after Trump's election. In April 2017, the president invited Graham to join him for a round of golf, a meeting that marked the beginning of a dramatic political realignment. What started as an informal outing evolved into frequent conversations on policy and strategy, laying the foundation for one of the Republican Party's most influential partnerships.

Graham emerged as one of the Trump administration's most forceful defenders during the contentious 2018 confirmation battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As the Senate Judiciary Committee weighed allegations of misconduct made by Christine Blasey Ford, Graham delivered an impassioned rebuke of Democrats, accusing them of using the confirmation process for political ends. 'What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020,' Graham said during the hearing. He later called the proceedings 'the most unethical sham' he had witnessed in politics and added, 'When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy.' The remarks became one of the defining moments of the confirmation fight and underscored Graham's evolution from one of Trump's earliest Republican critics into one of his most steadfast allies. The episode also cemented his standing as one of the administration's leading advocates for conservative judicial appointments.

When President Trump faced his first impeachment in 2020, Graham quickly emerged as one of his most vocal defenders. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he argued that the inquiry into Trump's dealings with Ukraine was politically motivated rather than grounded in evidence. Throughout the proceedings, Graham became a familiar presence on television, defending the president in interviews and urging fellow Republicans to oppose the impeachment charges. Trump's acquittal in the Senate further reinforced Graham's standing within the president's inner circle and underscored his role as one of the administration's most influential allies on Capitol Hill.

After standing firmly behind Trump throughout the 2020 presidential election, Graham briefly broke with the president in the aftermath of the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Speaking on the Senate floor, he expressed disappointment over the day's events while acknowledging the political partnership they had built. Graham said at the time, 'Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey – I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president, but today, the first thing you’ll see. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.' The split proved short-lived. Later that year, Graham urged Trump to publicly encourage Americans to receive COVID-19 vaccines as he promoted vaccination efforts himself, reflecting one of the few policy areas in which he pressed the former president to take a more active public stance.

Graham's criticism of Trump in the aftermath of Jan 6 ultimately did little to alter the course of their relationship. Months later, the two met at Mar-a-Lago for golf and dinner, an encounter that helped restore ties between the longtime political allies. In the years that followed, they remained in close contact, often aligning on major legislative initiatives, foreign policy matters and election strategy. The durability of their partnership was evident in one of their final public exchanges. Trump recalled that Graham had called him shortly after returning from Ukraine to discuss a proposed package of sanctions against Russia. Hours later, news of the senator's death brought to a close one of the most consequential political alliances in the modern Republican Party.