Lindsey Graham: The senator, soldier and statesman who never backed down
Lindsey Graham, a former Air Force colonel, served 33 years in the military, eight years in the House, and 23 years as a South Carolina senator. He was noted for his hands‑on approach to foreign policy, including trips to Afghanistan and efforts to label the Taliban a terrorist organization. Graham was a staunch ally of Donald Trump and advocated for a judiciary aligned with constitutional originalism.
- ▪Graham spent 33 years in the Air Force before entering politics, serving eight years as a congressman and 23 years as a U.S. senator from South Carolina.
- ▪He frequently visited overseas bases, including a 2008 trip to Kabul, to assess military needs and bring field insights to Washington.
- ▪After the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Graham co‑sponsored resolutions to designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization and to freeze its assets.
- ▪He was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s judicial appointments and defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
- ▪Graham’s approach emphasized strong allies, deterrent threats to enemies, and ensuring troops had adequate resources.
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Opinion Lindsey Graham: The senator, soldier and statesman who never backed down By Mike Waltz Published July 12, 2026, 9:22 p.m. ET Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking to the press at a US base in Kabul, Afghanistan on Dec. 10, 2008. AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google “The man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic — the man who actually does the work.” Theodore Roosevelt could have been describing Lindsey Graham. I first came to know Lindsey not as Sen. Graham, but as Col. Graham, a man who regularly stepped away from his role as a senator to put on an Air Force uniform, go down range and train Afghan military lawyers.
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