"He was a force of nature": Lindsey Graham's coffin brought to the National Cathedral
The coffin of the esteemed Republican senator, who passed away at 71, was brought to the National Cathedral in Washington. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and dozens of senior officials attended the ceremony. On the sidelines, a conversation took place between Netanyahu and Zelensky against the backdrop of tensions between Kyiv and Tehran.
The coffin of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was brought this evening (Tuesday) to the National Cathedral in Washington for a memorial service attended by US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and dozens of other senior officials.
Earlier that day, a farewell ceremony was held in the Capitol Rotunda, where members of Congress delivered eulogies. Graham, a senator from South Carolina, passed away suddenly on July 11 at the age of 71. Tomorrow (Wednesday), another ceremony will be held in South Carolina, where he will be laid to rest.
Trump delivered the main eulogy, calling Graham a "beloved friend, a devoted brother, an admired statesman, a giant of the US Senate, and a true original American who left us too soon."
"For more than 30 years, nothing of significance happened in this Capitol without Lindsey Graham knowing about it, and no law was passed without him having a say in the matter," he said, adding that Graham "gave America his entire good and great heart, until that very heart simply gave out." "He was a force of nature. I will miss him very much," he concluded.
"I have no doubt that he is looking down on us today, beaming with pride at his sister, Senator Darlene Graham," Trump said. Their parents died when she was a child, and Graham, then a 21-year-old student, served as her guardian and raised her. She now sits in his seat in the Senate after being appointed to complete his term, and has announced she will run in November for a full term, with Trump's backing.
Fox News host Sean Hannity, who also spoke, said that Graham was "unfairly characterized as a warmonger, and the opposite is true: he wanted a lasting peace in the Middle East, and for every country in the region to be on a path to peace." According to him, "he knew how to distinguish between good and evil, and knew, as Israel knows, that there is no path to peace until evil is defeated," referring to Iran, which he called a "death cult" and the "world's largest state sponsor of terrorism."
Hannity also addressed Netanyahu directly: "I see that you are here, and Lindsey would have appreciated the long journey you made today. He loved you, loved the State of Israel and the people of Israel, and was never ashamed to say so, until the day he died." In closing, he said he prays that Graham's dream of a lasting peace will come true.
Netanyahu and Zelensky, who met with Trump separately at the White House earlier that day, spoke with each other before the ceremony. The unusual conversation between the two took place against the backdrop of sharp tensions between Kyiv and Tehran.
Last Saturday, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had attacked in the Caspian Sea "vessels used for military cargo shipments involving Iran," and the following day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened in response that this would not remain "without a response."
