Senator Lindsey Graham (R‑S.C.) died early Sunday, concluding a career that moved from strong criticism of Donald Trump in 2016 to strong support after Trump’s victory. In the 2016 Republican primary, Graham called Trump a demagogue and said the party would be destroyed if it nominated him. After Trump’s election, Graham played golf with Trump and supported his policy agenda, including efforts to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to reconsider the 2020 vote count. Graham joined Senator Marco Rubio in urging the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Russia, but later aligned with Trump’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 election. He led a side investigation that questioned the FBI’s Russia probe and the Steele dossier, asserting the investigation was fraudulent; the Department of Justice inspector general said that claim was inaccurate. In late 2020, Graham asked Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to declassify intelligence alleging that the Clinton campaign created a link between Trump and Russia to distract from her private email server; the intelligence was based on Russian reports that the CIA said were not credible. Graham described the released intelligence as the smoking gun and continued to defend that position. He criticized the Trump‑Russia investigation as one of the most criticized episodes in FBI history and claimed a Justice Department inspector general report had declared it fraudulent, a statement the report itself did not support. While his stance on Russia shifted, Graham remained a vocal advocate for Ukraine, a position praised by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called him a true defender of freedom. His mixed record on foreign policy and domestic investigations leaves his legacy open to interpretation as the United States continues to manage relations with Russia and Ukraine.