{"id":259925,"date":"2026-06-09T00:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/259925\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T00:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:34:09","slug":"a-timeline-of-donald-trump-and-lindsey-grahams-relationship-before-the-south-carolina-primary-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/259925\/","title":{"rendered":"A Timeline of Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham\u2019s Relationship Before the South Carolina Primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is entering his Republican primary on Tuesday with a powerful ally in his corner: President Trump. Mr. Graham \u201cis doing a fantastic job\u201d and has his endorsement, Mr. Trump has said<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But they weren\u2019t always so chummy.<\/p>\n

Mr. Graham was once one of Mr. Trump\u2019s most vocal Republican critics, calling him a \u201cdemagogue,\u201d \u201cthe world\u2019s biggest jackass\u201d and a \u201crace-baiting xenophobic religious bigot.\u201d Mr. Trump once called Mr. Graham \u201ca disgrace\u201d and \u201cone of the dumbest human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Mr. Graham has embraced the president. On Tuesday, Mr. Graham, who faces a primary challenge from the right, is hoping to receive enough votes to avoid a runoff. But with Mr. Trump\u2019s support, Mr. Graham is well-positioned to avoid the fate of Senators John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy, who were both recently ousted in Republican primary races after Mr. Trump claimed that they had been insufficiently loyal and backed their challengers.<\/p>\n

A review of public statements, social media posts and video dating back to 2015 shows how the relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. Graham has evolved from resentment to an embrace.<\/p>\n

Here are some key moments:<\/p>\n

2015-2016: \u2018Go to hell\u2019<\/p>\n

Both presidential candidates at the time, their first big clash came in 2015, after Mr. Trump said Senator John McCain \u2014 one of Mr. Graham\u2019s closest friends \u2014 was only considered a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam, adding, \u201cI like people who weren\u2019t captured<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The South Carolina senator told Mr. Trump to \u201crun for president, but don\u2019t be the world\u2019s biggest jackass,\u201d on CBS<\/a> on July 21. Hours later, Mr. Trump revealed Mr. Graham\u2019s cellphone number<\/a> to the crowd at a South Carolina campaign event and encouraged supporters to \u201ctry it.\u201d He also called Mr. Graham an \u201cidiot\u201d and a \u201clightweight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days before dropping his presidential bid in December 2015, Mr. Graham gave his most forceful condemnation yet of Mr. Trump, who had taken the lead in national polling. He told CNN<\/a> that Mr. Trump\u2019s rhetoric \u201cdisgusted\u201d him and that his proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States<\/a> would be \u201ca death sentence\u201d for allies and interpreters in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Mr. Graham, who had worked with Democrats on immigration, also warned that Mr. Trump\u2019s pledge to aggressively deport illegal immigrants would \u201ctear the party apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how you make America great again?\u201d Mr. Graham asked on CNN. \u201cTell Donald Trump to go to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

2017-2020: Rapprochement (\u2018Can you believe it?\u2019)<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump\u2019s 2016 upset win cemented his dominance in the party. Once the president took office, mutual friends reportedly convinced Mr. Graham and Mr. Trump to have a \u201cmake up lunch\u201d<\/a> in March 2017, according to New York magazine. Their personal relationship blossomed, with Mr. Graham becoming one of Mr. Trump\u2019s closest Senate confidants by 2018.<\/p>\n

Regular golfing outings<\/a> were the bread and butter of the partnership.<\/p>\n

Discussing his relationship with Mr. Trump in January 2018, Mr. Graham said, \u201cIt\u2019s evolved because he is president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI said everything,\u201d Mr. Graham said on CBS News<\/a> in January of 2018. \u201cI said he was a xenophobic, race-baiting religious bigot. I ran out of adjectives. Well, the American people spoke, and they rejected my analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump also had a change of heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to be a great enemy of mine, now he\u2019s a great friend of mine,\u201d Mr. Trump said at a January 2018 meeting with Senate Republicans<\/a>. \u201cI really like Lindsey. Can you believe it? I never thought I\u2019d say that, but I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alliance further solidified in September 2018, when Mr. Graham gave an impassioned speech<\/a> calling the public hearing of sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh \u201cthe most unethical sham since I\u2019ve been in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

2021-2024: New rifts<\/p>\n

After Mr. Trump falsely claimed the November 2020 election was \u201crigged,\u201d Mr. Graham called election officials and defended him on television<\/a>. He was later ordered to testify in a legal battle.<\/p>\n

However, Mr. Graham refused to support Mr. Trump\u2019s bid to overturn 2020 election results.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump and I, we\u2019ve had a hell of a journey,\u201d he said<\/a> on Jan. 6, 2021, the day that Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. \u201cAll I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

But unlike Mr. Cassidy and six other Republican senators<\/a>, Mr. Graham did not vote the following month to convict Mr. Trump of inciting an insurrection after he was impeached by the House.<\/p>\n

The pair reconciled over the next couple of years, and Mr. Graham boosted Mr. Trump\u2019s run for a second term. But he faced lingering skepticism from the MAGA base. Mr. Graham was booed<\/a> at an event celebrating Mr. Trump\u2019s win of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary after Mr. Trump introduced him as \u201ca little bit further left\u201d than his other supporters, and a crowd in New Hampshire also jeered at Mr. Graham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pair went through another rough patch in 2024, when a public disagreement<\/a> over a proposed federal abortion ban led Mr. Trump to say he regretted endorsing Mr. Graham in 2020.<\/p>\n

2025-2026: Graham looks to avoid a runoff with Trump\u2019s help<\/p>\n

While Mr. Graham has occasionally voiced<\/a> disagreements<\/a> with Mr. Trump over the past two years, they have largely remained in lock step on most policy issues.<\/p>\n

That has paid off for the South Carolina senator. Mr. Trump has heaped praise on Mr. Graham and branded his main primary opponent, the businessman Mark Lynch, a \u201clunatic.\u201d Mr. Lynch has spent millions of dollars as he has sought to cast Mr. Graham as too disloyal to Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n

One ad features Mr. Trump saying<\/a> of Mr. Graham in 2016, \u201cI don\u2019t think he could run for dogcatcher in this state and win again.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Lynch and his supporters \u2014 including former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia \u2014 have also criticized Mr. Graham for his longtime hawkish leanings, underlining the tension in Mr. Trump\u2019s coalition over the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good folks of South Carolina deserve so much better than this America Last warmonger,\u201d Ms. Greene wrote in a social media post endorsing Mr. Lynch<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

To defend the seat, Mr. Graham and his allies have spent upward of $15 million promoting his support from Mr. Trump in ads, while Mr. Lynch has spent nearly $5 million, according to AdImpact, the ad-tracking service. Mr. Graham is hoping to win a majority of the vote and avert a runoff that would extend the Republican race through June 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s endorsed me. Not my opponents, but me,\u201d Mr. Graham said of Mr. Trump in an interview with WYFF News 4<\/a> on Monday. \u201cIf you want somebody who can go to Washington to help him, I\u2019m your best choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a tele-rally on the eve of the primary, Mr. Trump gushed about Mr. Graham, saying, \u201cyou\u2019ve been so great to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, \u201cGraham was perceived as too moderate, too willing to work with Democrats,\u201d said Joel Sawyer, a Republican strategist in South Carolina. \u201cThat version of Lindsey Graham that\u2019s always looking to reach across the aisle is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane Goldmacher contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is entering his Republican primary on Tuesday with a powerful ally in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1452,89518,11282,46937,9,24,63,5285,134,136,135,1069,1876],"class_list":["post-259925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-donald-j","tag-graham","tag-lindsey","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-republican-party","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-trump","tag-united-states-politics-and-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}