About this episode

Chuck Todd reflects on the life and political career of Lindsey Graham following his death, discussing his role in the Republican Party and the implications for future politics.

Chuck Todd devotes much of this episode to a rich, personal reflection on the death of Senator Lindsey Graham at 71 — a figure who can only be understood if you separate the ideologues from the pure politicians, because Graham was unambiguously the latter. Graham always wanted to be in the middle of the Republican Party, treated his Senate seat as something as precious to him as a spouse, and was a genuine political creature who could nonetheless work with everyone, partnering with both Trump and Obama across his career. Chuck shares personal memories — interviewing Graham alongside John McCain, the two of them giving outsized attention to the Steele Dossier; Graham losing his parents in his 20s and raising his 13-year-old sister; even reassuring Chuck’s own wife about her worries over Trump — and argues that Graham, for all his capitulations, actually served as one of the few moderating forces on Trump. He  lays out the very real political fallout: Todd Blanche's confirmation as Attorney General is now in serious jeopardy, Graham leaves a massive vacuum in the GOP conference, and his South Carolina seat could actually be competitive for Democrat…

People in this episode

Host: Chuck Todd

Topics covered

• Lindsey Graham
• political reflection
• Republican Party
• moderation in politics
• American and British politics
• political fallout

Keywords

• Lindsey Graham
• Chuck Todd
• Republican Party
• politics
• moderation
• Todd Blanche
• Annie Andrews
• political reflection

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Republican Party, Labour, Trump, Obama, Nigel Farage

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