Trump Shares Details of His Final Conversation With Lindsey Graham, ‘He Was Full of Vim and Vigor’

Donald Trump is speaking candidly about his last call with Lindsey Graham. The South Carolina Senator passed away on Saturday, July 11, from what his representatives said was a “brief and sudden illness.”

On Sunday morning, the President spoke to CNN’sJake Tapper, sharing, “Well, it’s devastating. I thought he was fine. He called me last night. He just got back from Ukraine. And he had a great trip. He was telling me about the trip. He was pushing very, very hard. You probably know he wanted to do the SAVE America Act, that he was talking about that.”

Trump continued, “He was full of vim and vigor. He was tired. He said, ‘I’m tired, because it’s a long trip.’ But other than that, he was fine.”

The President detailed a timeline of his call with Graham, adding, “And he called me, I guess, just moments before because he called me like, at 6:30 or something, and the medical people got there a little bit later. Right after that. What a terrible loss it is.”

Later in the interview, Trump explained, “He had already landed. He was probably at his place. I don’t know where he was, but I spoke to him. And then I got a call a few hours later, saying, late in the evening, at 2:00 in the morning actually, but they found out about it, I think, about 8:00, about his problem. So it had to be something very quick because he was fine. Other than being tired, he was fine.”

Known as a problem-solver, Graham was a Senator who, as Trump said, is “A  great politician. He was a natural politician. Got along with everybody. When he didn’t, he was very tough. He was a tough cookie, too. But he got along with everybody.” The Commander-In-Chief also reminisced, “There was no better advocate. He was a fantastic advocate in the Senate. He was able to, if I had a really big problem with a certain democrat, he could work it out. That’s something most republicans can’t do.”

Trump also praised Senator Lindsey Graham to other news outlets, telling Kristen Welker of Meet the Press, “He’s a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way.” On Sunday, July 12, Graham was scheduled to appear on Meet the Press for what would have been his 64th time.

Seeming stunned at the news of the Senator’s death, Trump added, “It could have been his last call. I don’t know exactly…I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family to me.”