{"id":4838,"date":"2026-07-13T07:47:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4838"},"modified":"2026-07-13T07:47:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T02:47:59","slug":"how-meet-the-press-paid-tribute-to-lindsey-graham-after-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4838","title":{"rendered":"How Meet the Press Paid Tribute to Lindsey Graham After Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p>Senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/lindsey-graham-dead-south-carolina-senator-was-71\/\"><strong>Lindsey Graham<\/strong><\/a> unexpectedly died at age 71 just one day before he was scheduled to make what would have been his 64th <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/meet-the-press-moderator-addresses-lindsey-grahams-death\/\">appearance on NBC\u2019s <em>Meet the Press<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we reflect on the life and legacy of Senator Linsey Graham, we here at <em>Meet the Press<\/em> want to extend our deepest condolences to his friends, his family and his colleagues,\u201d <em>Meet the Press<\/em> moderator <strong>Kristen Welker<\/strong> said on the Sunday, July 12, episode of the NBC program. \u201cSenator Graham was not only a fixture on Capitol Hill but on this broadcast as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She continued, \u201cHe was scheduled to appear on the show this morning for what would have been his 64th appearance. Senator Graham was one of the show\u2019s most frequent guests, second only to hsi dear friend, the late Senator<a href=\"http:\/\/n\"><strong> John McCain<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The South Carolina senator\u2019s office confirmed early Sunday morning that Graham had died the previous evening at the age of 71 after battling a \u201cbrief and sudden illness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,\u201d a spokesperson for the late politician said in a written statement shared via X. \u201cSenator Graham\u2019s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrities\/donald-trump\/\"><strong>Donald Trump<\/strong><\/a> called into <em>Meet the Press<\/em>\u2019 Sunday program in the wake of the senator\u2019s death, detailing what he said was perhaps the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/donald-trump-spoke-to-lindsey-graham-hours-before-death\/\">final phone call the politician made<\/a> before he died.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DasuzK9xu-l\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cSo, what makes it even stranger is I got a call last night something in the early evening \u2014 maybe in the sevens \u2014 and he called and said, \u2018We\u2019re all set for the Save America Act,\u2019 the president, 80, said, referring to his controversial voting bill that many experts have argued will actually make it more difficult for U.S. citizens to vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dHe was pushing the Save America Act like crazy,\u201d the president continued. \u201cHe got back, said he just landed from Ukraine, I said, \u2018That\u2019s a long trip.\u2019 He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired \u2014 he had the right to be, he was a worker. He was really a worker. But he sounded great, actually. But he actually said he was tired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump added, \u201cBut he wanted to pass the Save America Act, and I said, \u201cWell, we\u2019re gonna get it done, Lindsey. We\u2019re gonna get it done. See you soon.\u2019 We might even meet today, and then that was it. That was very, around the time\u2026 it couldn\u2019t have been much longer. It could have been his last call, I don\u2019t know exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"news-block\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form  \">\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-narrow\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-wide.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-wide\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__success\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<h3>Thank You!<\/h3>\n<p>You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>During Sunday\u2019s tribute, Welker detailed Graham\u2019s final appearance on the program, sharing that the show gifted him a picture that used to hang in a green room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring his last appearance on the show this past May we presented him with a photo that previously hung in the <em>Meet the Press<\/em> green room from a joint appearance with Senator McCain in 2017,\u201d Welker explained. \u201cIt was a fitting moment for a senator who understood the power of this program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She concluded, \u201cSenator Graham was a frequent guest because he believed in the idea that democracy is strengthened when we continue the conversation even when we disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senator Lindsey Graham unexpectedly died at age 71 just one day before he was scheduled to make what would have been his 64th appearance on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press. \u201cAs we reflect on the life and legacy of Senator Linsey Graham, we here at Meet the Press want to extend our deepest condolences to his&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-73488774lindseygrahammeetthepress.jpg?crop=0px%2C119px%2C1353px%2C711px&resize=1200%2C630&quality=86&strip=all","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}