Hunter Biden shares memory of Graham from ‘time before Donald Trump’

Senate Hunter Biden shares memory of Graham from ‘time before Donald Trump’ Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 07/12/26 3:54 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 07/12/26 3:54 PM ET Comments: Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Hunter Biden on Sunday reflected on Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) relationship with his father, former President Biden, and several other lawmakers in a statement that shared memories of a “time before Donald Trump.”

“When I heard about Senator Graham’s death last night, the first thing I thought about was not all the things he said and did in service of Donald Trump. I thought of the time before Donald Trump when he was a brother to Senator John McCain,” Hunter wrote in a post on X.

“A time when senators from different parties could fight about politics and still be friends. A time when a conservative Republican from South Carolina could say of my father: ‘If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met in politics. As good a man as God ever created,’” he added, referring to Graham’s remarks in a 2015 interview with The Huffington Post focusing on the South Carolina lawmaker’s presidential bid.

During Graham’s short-lived unsuccessful campaign for the presidency, he described Trump as “the most flawed nominee in the history of the Republican party.”

He also labeled him “unfit for office” and a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”

That attitude quickly shifted over the next decade and a second Trump administration, which brought the South Carolina lawmaker inside Trump’s inner circle as an adviser and ally.

“If you had told me in 2016, that I would wind up being one of his better friends, closest advisers, and admire him as commander in chief I wouldn’t have believed you,” Graham told Politico earlier this year.

“I think what the president sees in me is somebody that can deliver. He tells everybody, ‘You know, he can get things done,’” referring to the lawmaker’s ability to bridge the gap legislatively on key portions of the president’s legislative agenda.

On Sunday, Trump said Graham’s death was a “big blow” to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act, which would overhaul voter registration nationwide.

Graham spoke with Trump about the bill hours before he was pronounced dead on Saturday.

After the senator’s death was announced, an outpour of Democratic lawmakers reflected on his ability to work across the aisle with his colleagues in the legislature.

“Lindsey and I served together in Congress for over a decade, and worked closely on many issues throughout the years. We traveled the world together as members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. We disagreed often, and sometimes loudly,” former President Biden wrote in a post on X.

“Lindsey and I did agree on the profound importance of public service. Like me, he loved the Senate as an institution, even with all its flaws and complexities,” he added.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also shared fond memories of Graham.

“Lindsey was loyal to friends and causes. He was willing to work on gnarly issues and take on (at times) political risks for the right reasons. It is fitting that he died shortly after visiting Ukraine, one of those causes he would stand up for through thick and thin…” she wrote in a post on X.

“But mostly my fond memories of spending time with Lindsey (and we travelled the world with John McCain) was not about the ups and downs of his policy positions. It was about his love for the world, his loyalty to hard causes and his friends, and the pure joy he brought to life. I will miss him,” she added.