Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) considered his friendship with the late Sen. John McCain a "political marriage." But does he feel the same about his current top collaborator, President Trump?
"Oh, gosh, no," he tells The New York Times Magazine in a new profile. Working with Trump is more about "relevance," he says.
Graham has performed a total reversal from the days he called Trump a "race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot," telling the Times Magazine "I personally like [Trump]." We play golf. He's very nice to me." Yet when he's asked "what happened" to his old views, Graham has a clear answer: "Not a damn thing," he said at a recent speech to supporters.
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That's not to say Graham didn't work to sneak into what he calls Trump's "orbit." In fact, it would be "odd" not to "try to be relevant," he tells the Times Magazine. And it seems to have worked: "I have never been called this much by a president in my life," Graham said.
That allegiance has come at the cost of some Democratic friendships. After Graham raged against his colleagues during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said he couldn't speak to the Republican for weeks, adding that he is "still struggling to renew my working relationship with Sen. Graham."
And yet there's still some ambiguity over where Graham stands with Trump. He's happy to get dinner with the president, but when asked if he "trusts" the man, Graham would only say that he "trust[s] the president to want to be successful." Whether that lines up with Graham's ideals is another story. Read more at The New York Times Magazine.
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