Meghan McCain issued a solemn tribute to late senator Lindsey Graham following his sudden death at 71.
“The first time I met Lindsey Graham, I was 11 years old in a hotel lobby and he had just attended a political event with my dad,” Meghan, 41, wrote via X on Sunday, July 12, referring to her late father, John McCain, who died in 2018. “He sat down next to me and told me that he loved my dad. I remember liking his deep Southern accent and smile and immediately felt comfortable around him. He somehow seemed younger, hipper and more interesting than most of the political figures that rotated around my dad’s orbit.”
Meghan recalled how Graham and John quickly became “fast friends and political comrades.”
“There are few memories I have of my dad’s political career and my life accompanying it that don’t somehow involve Lindsey,” she mused. “He and Senator Joe Lieberman spent decades of their lives traveling together, fighting for the same causes on the Senate floor, spending holidays together and fighting for their version of the American dream. Those who followed them know they affectionately referred to each other as ‘The Three Amigos.’ My dad was the soul of the group, Joe was the heart of the group and Lindsey was the fire and humor. Their combination bonded them as friends throughout their lives.”
For Meghan, she said that she will always “hold dear” of her memories of Graham, who died on Saturday, July 11, after a “brief and sudden illness.”
“[Lindsey] was always the person you hoped you sat next to at a dinner party. Charming, very, very, very funny, like so funny he truly could have had a career in stand-up comedy,” the former The View panelist recalled on Sunday. “He had an acerbic quick wit and he could win over even his deepest distractors. He was always full of stories that were always engaging and entertaining. He was literally never, ever boring.”
She continued, “At his best he was filled with light and was always the last person to leave any table for work or fun. In fact, I used to joke with my dad that I couldn’t go out to dinner with him and my dad as an adult unless I didn’t have work the next day because they would always stay so long at the table and shut down the restaurant. Lindsey and my dad were also both hams and would take every selfie, talk to every waiter and person in the place. Life around them was big and alive in every possible way humans can be.”
Meghan further gushed that Graham “brought humor and loyalty” to John’s political ups and downs, in addition to a storied career of his own. (Graham represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 2003 until his death in July 2026.)
“As a politician, his skills were unmatched which is why he won so many elections and was well on his way to winning another,” Meghan said. “When he spoke to voters he was direct, straight and felt their pain. He also loved people. He wasn’t one of those politicians who had to fake it, he loved being in elected office and serving our country.”
Despite Graham’s profound impact, Meghan admittedly found their bond faltered “in later years.”
“The news of his sudden passing is shocking and deeply saddening for me and my family. Like many relationships in life, mine with Lindsey was complex in later years,” she concluded on Sunday. “I choose to remember the endless laughter and joy he brought to my family so many times, in so many ways. These memories are some of the most precious of my life. I hope that he is at peace and I hope he is in heaven drinking a White Russian and fishing with my dad and Joe.”
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