2026-07-13T09:30:25.309Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
2015年12月，当唐纳德·特朗普还只是共和党初选阵营中胜算渺茫的候选人时，共和党参议员林赛·格雷厄姆曾对这位政坛门外汉发表过大胆评价。
“你知道怎么让美国再次伟大吗？让唐纳德·特朗普下地狱去吧。”当时也在2016年总统提名竞选十余名共和党人之列的格雷厄姆在CNN节目中如是说。随后他痛批特朗普提出的全面禁止穆斯林入境的提案：“他是一个煽动种族对立、仇视外来移民、偏执排外的偏执狂。”
这段对话成为华盛顿最重要的政治关系之一不可思议的起点。格雷厄姆与特朗普的联盟最初让两人核心圈子内的许多人都感到困惑，它主导了两届总统任期内横跨多个大洲的外交政策，以及国会山的共和党议事日程。
作为华盛顿顶尖的权力玩家，格雷厄姆多年来一直与包括巴拉克·奥巴马总统在内的民主党人打交道。在30多年的从政生涯中，他从不盲从党派意识形态，这一点从他屡次尝试改革美国移民制度，以及他对茶党运动的厌恶中便可窥见一斑。
随后特朗普横空出世，并在2016年出人意料地赢得大选。短短数月内，格雷厄姆便完成了转变，从特朗普初选中最突出的对手，变成了其最关键的合作伙伴——国会中最亲密的盟友、火力全开的电视代言人，以及高尔夫球场上的常客。
2017年3月的一次午餐为两人化解了矛盾，此后格雷厄姆通过频繁致电和一同打高尔夫，稳步跻身特朗普的核心圈子。（格雷厄姆事后开玩笑称，这次会面进行得非常顺利，特朗普在一场竞选集会上公布了这位参议员的手机号后，他也给总统换了“新的手机号码”。）
“林赛曾是我最大的敌人之一，如今他是我最好的朋友之一，”特朗普在2018年与参议院共和党人的一次会议上惊叹道，“我真的很喜欢林赛。你们能相信吗？”
在格雷厄姆上周意外离世后，特朗普称他是“我所认识的最伟大的人物之一，也是最优秀的参议员之一”。
对于特朗普的第二任期，格雷厄姆将自己置于总统多项重大目标的核心位置，包括对伊朗动武以及大规模升级五角大楼军备。他本会在国会山多个迫在眉睫的议题上发挥关键作用——例如两党推动的对俄制裁协议，格雷厄姆在去世前48小时刚宣布达成这项协议，以及特朗普新任司法部长提名人的确认程序。
“他和马可·卢比奥、杰布·布什一样，起初并不理解特朗普现象，”一位长期为特朗普效力的顾问谈及格雷厄姆最初对特朗普在共和党内部崛起的抵触时说道，“但林赛·格雷厄姆最终想通了。他明白唐纳德·特朗普代表了共和党内部所有的活力与热情。”
这位顾问表示，在过去十年里，格雷厄姆已成为特朗普在高风险地缘政治事务上最信任的顾问之一，即便两人在多项关键战略问题上时常存在分歧，包括美国对乌克兰的支持力度，以及白宫为结束伊朗战争所做的谈判，他依然赢得了总统的信任。
“他将林赛视为自己的外交政策专家之一，”这位顾问说，“他们并不总是意见一致，但我认为他很尊重林赛。”
与国会中其他一些“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）的忠实追随者不同，格雷厄姆在与特朗普结成政治同盟时并未放弃自己坚定的信念；相反，他会选择自己的战场，并在必要时向总统施压。
他不支持废除参议院阻挠议事规则（尽管特朗普在格雷厄姆去世后告诉CNN，他“即将支持”这一想法）。他始终忠诚于已故的长期好友兼导师、参议员约翰·麦凯恩，而麦凯恩曾多次成为特朗普抨击的对象。在存在分歧的问题上，他也会设法避免直接批评总统，包括赦免国会山骚乱参与者，以及特朗普针对外交盟友的煽动性言论。
尽管曾激烈反对特朗普崛起，格雷厄姆在2016年大选后几乎立刻就开始着手与这位昔日对手建立关系。两人频繁一同打高尔夫，格雷厄姆最终成为持谨慎态度的共和党建制派与一位不熟悉华盛顿运作方式的新手总统之间的关键桥梁。
这位南卡罗来纳州参议员后来将自己的 abrupt 转变描述为一项务实决定，旨在在不断变化的共和党中保持影响力，即便他因向这个他曾警告会毁掉共和党的人示好而遭到其他议员的批评。
“这种关系之所以演变，是因为他是美国总统。他以绝对优势击败了我，我想尽我所能帮助他，”格雷厄姆在2018年接受哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）新闻采访时谈到与特朗普的关系时说道，“美国人民做出了选择，他们否定了我的判断，而他现在是我的总统。”
周日，特朗普及其圈子内人士特别指出，格雷厄姆在时任最高法院大法官候选人布雷特·卡瓦诺的确认程序中进行的激烈辩护，是两人关系的关键转折点。2018年针对卡瓦诺的性侵指控听证会期间，格雷厄姆怒斥听证会上的民主党人，指责他们为了政治目的破坏提名。
“这是我从政以来最不道德的骗局，”他当时说道。
这番演讲帮助巩固了共和党对卡瓦诺的支持，最终在参议院历史上最紧张的确认战之一后，为特朗普敲定了至关重要的最高法院大法官任命。对于格雷厄姆昔日在国会的民主党盟友——尤其是司法委员会的议员们而言，这一时刻标志着双方关系不可挽回的破裂。
“我认为这是参议院历史上前十，甚至前五的关键时刻，”特朗普周日告诉CNN，“他发自内心地发表了演讲，扭转了整个局面。他真的非常了不起。”
作为参议院长期以来最坚定的伊朗鹰派人物之一，格雷厄姆在说服特朗普今年早些时候对伊朗动武一事上发挥了核心作用，这场持续数月的战争如今正困扰着总统，使其难以收场。
这位参议员数月来一直游说特朗普对伊朗采取更强硬的对抗措施，将该国描绘成对以色列及该地区其他国家日益严重的威胁，并公开呼吁白宫实现他多年来的政权更迭目标。
“我想明确一点，当后人书写这个时代的历史时：指望阿亚图拉改变主意，就如同指望希特勒改变主意一样，”格雷厄姆今年早些时候在世界经济论坛间隙接受采访时表示，“如今唯一的解决方案就是支持伊朗民众，终结这个政权。”
尽管总统的一些高级助手对此心存疑虑，但就在总统下令袭击伊朗的几周前，格雷厄姆表示，他利用特朗普对自身总统任期历史地位的执念来说服他发动战争，将其描述为一个类似里根主义的机会，既可以帮助伊朗抗议者，又能改变中东的局势走向。
“我认为这将是他载入史册的时刻，”格雷厄姆说，“罗纳德·里根说过，‘推倒这面墙。’而不是，‘能不能麻烦把它降一点？’……街上的民众认为救援即将到来。他们相信特朗普总统。”
格雷厄姆还试图影响特朗普参与另一场外国冲突：俄罗斯与乌克兰的战争。自2022年俄乌冲突爆发以来，特朗普对乌克兰基本漠不关心——有时还公开嘲讽乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基——同时偶尔称赞俄罗斯领导人弗拉基米尔·普京，这让美国盟友感到困惑。
而格雷厄姆则是共和党中为数不多仍支持美国干预乌克兰局势的议员之一，他推动向乌克兰提供武器和其他军事援助。这也是上周在土耳其举行的北约峰会的重点议题之一。这位南卡罗来纳州议员刚从他的第十次乌克兰之行返回，期间他与泽连斯基进行了两次会面。
“在大使官邸的私人晚宴上，他正在向每位参议员游说一项结束乌克兰战争的策略。典型的林赛作风，”伊利诺伊州民主党参议员迪克·德宾在谈及最近的北约峰会时说道。
格雷厄姆鼓励特朗普在诸多议题上表明立场，施压他对俄罗斯保持施压，支持他对美国拥有格陵兰岛的要求，并寻求新的途径推进总统的首要国内议程：一项陷入停滞的联邦选举改革法案，该法案已导致白宫与参议院共和党领导层产生分歧。
格雷厄姆曾在2016年警告称“如果我们提名特朗普，我们将被彻底击败……而且我们活该如此”，对特朗普总统任期充满恐惧，而在其政治生涯的最后阶段，他却一直在致力于扩大并塑造特朗普的权力。
“他们从早到晚都在担惊受怕，”格雷厄姆今年早些时候在驳斥美国盟友对特朗普日益增长的担忧时说道，“如果你担心特朗普，那就去喝杯啤酒，看看心理医生吧。”
Graham and Trump’s unlikely alliance: From opponents to key allies — and golf buddies
2026-07-13T09:30:25.309Z / CNN
In December 2015, when Donald Trump was still a long-shot candidate in the GOP’s sprawling primary field, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham offered a brazen assessment of the political outsider.
“You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell,” Graham, who was also among the dozen Republicans running for the 2016 presidential nomination, declared on CNN. Then, he pilloried Trump’s proposed ban on all Muslims from entering the country: “He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”
It was the unlikely beginning of what would become one of Washington’s key political relationships. The Graham-Trump alliance — which at first flummoxed many in both men’s inner circles — steered two terms of presidential foreign policy across multiple continents, and the GOP’s agenda on Capitol Hill.
Graham, the ultimate Washington power player, had spent years dealmaking with Democrats, including President Barack Obama. In his 30-plus years in politics, he refused to ascribe to party-line ideology, which he made clear with his frequent attempts to fix the US immigration system, or his disgust of the tea party movement.
Then came Trump — and his stunning 2016 win. Within months, Graham had transfigured himself from Trump’s most prominent primary foe into one of his most critical partners — his closest ally in Congress, a fierce TV surrogate and frequent golf partner.
Beginning with a March 2017 lunch that brokered peace between the two men, Graham persistently worked his way into Trump’s inner circle through frequent phone calls and golf outings. (Graham joked afterward that the meeting went so well that he gave the president his “new cell phone number,” after Trump gave out the senator’s number at a campaign rally.)
“Lindsey used to be a great enemy of mine, and now he’s a great friend of mine,” Trump marveled during one meeting with Senate Republicans in 2018. “I really like Lindsey. Can you believe that?”
In response to Graham’s unexpected death over the weekend, Trump called him “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”
For Trump’s second term, Graham put himself at the center of the president’s biggest ambitions, including the Iran war and a massive modernization of the Pentagon. He would have been a critical voice in multiple looming issues on the Hill — such as a bipartisan push for Russian sanctions, a deal on which Graham had announced just 48 hours before his death, and the confirmation of Trump’s new attorney general pick.
“He was one of those guys, just like Marco [Rubio], just like Jeb Bush, who didn’t understand the Trump phenomenon,” one longtime Trump adviser said of Graham’s initial resistance to Trump’s rise within the GOP. “But eventually Lindsey Graham figured it out. He saw that Donald Trump was where all the energy and the passion was in the Republican Party.”
Graham over the last decade morphed into one of Trump’s most trusted counselors on high-stakes geopolitical matters, the adviser said, earning the president’s confidence even as they often disagreed on key strategic issues, including the extent of US support for Ukraine and the White House’s efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war.
“He looked at Lindsey as one of his foreign policy experts,” the adviser said. “He didn’t always agree with him, but I think he respected him.”
Unlike some other MAGA loyalists in Congress, Graham did not abandon his own strongly held beliefs when he linked political forces with Trump; instead, he picked his battles and threw his weight around with the president when necessary.
He did not support eliminating the filibuster (though Trump told CNN after Graham’s death that he was “coming aboard” to the idea). He remained fiercely loyal to his longtime friend and mentor, the late Sen. John McCain, who was a frequent subject of Trump’s ire. And he found ways to avoid directly criticizing the president on matters of disagreement, including the pardoning of Capitol rioters and Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about diplomatic allies.
Despite his sharp opposition to Trump’s rise, Graham almost immediately began working to establish a relationship with his former rival following the 2016 election. The two golfed together frequently, with Graham eventually establishing himself as a key conduit between the wary Republican establishment and a novice president unaccustomed to the ways of Washington.
The South Carolina senator later described his abrupt transformation as a pragmatic decision aimed at remaining relevant within a changing Republican Party, even as he faced criticism from other lawmakers for cozying up to a man he’d once warned would destroy the GOP.
“It’s evolved because he is the president of the United States. He beat me like a drum and I want to help him where I can,” Graham said of his relationship with Trump in a 2018 CBS News interview. “The American people spoke, they rejected my analysis and he is now my president.”
On Sunday, Trump and others in his orbit specifically cited Graham’s ardent defense of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a pivotal moment in their relationship. During a 2018 congressional hearing focused on sexual assault allegations made against Kavanaugh, Graham berated Democrats on the panel, accusing them of trying to derail the nomination for political purposes.
“This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics,” he said at the time.
The speech helped galvanize GOP support for Kavanaugh, ultimately delivering Trump a crucial Supreme Court appointee after one of the Senate’s most tense confirmation battles in history. For some of Graham’s onetime Democratic allies in Congress — particularly those on the Judiciary Committee — it represented a point of no return.
“I think it was a top 10, maybe a top-five moment in the history of the Senate,” Trump told CNN on Sunday. “He did it from the heart and it turned that whole thing around. He was really amazing.”
Long one of the Senate’s most prominent Iran hawks, Graham played a central role in convincing Trump to strike Iran earlier this year, setting off a monthslong war that the president is now struggling to bring to an end.
The senator lobbied Trump for months to more aggressively confront Iran, portraying the nation as an increasingly dangerous threat to Israel and the rest of the region and openly calling for the White House to fulfill his yearslong goal of regime change.
“I want to be clear when they write the history of these times: Expecting the ayatollah to change his ways would be like expecting Hitler to change his ways,” Graham said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum earlier this year. “The only answer now is to end this regime by standing behind the people.”
Speaking weeks before the president ordered attacks on Iran — despite the misgivings of some of the president’s senior aides — Graham described appealing to Trump’s fixation on his presidential legacy to sway him toward war, portraying it as a Reaganesque opportunity to come to come to the aid of Iranian protesters and to alter the trajectory of the Middle East.
“I think this is his place in history,” Graham said. “Ronald Reagan said, ‘Tear down this wall.’ Not, ‘Could you please lower it?’ … You’ve got people out in the streets thinking help is on the way. They believe in President Trump.”
Graham was also seeking to influence Trump’s involvement in another foreign conflict: Russia’s war with Ukraine. Trump has been largely apathetic toward Ukraine since the 2022 invasion — at times, publicly deriding its leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky — while baffling allies by occasionally praising Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Graham, meanwhile, has been one of the few remaining GOP champions of US intervention on behalf of Ukraine, pushing to supply arms and other military aid. It was Graham’s focus at last week’s NATO summit in Turkey. And the South Carolinian had just returned from his 10th trip to Ukraine, where he met twice with Zelensky.
“At a private dinner at the Ambassador’s residence, he was working every Senator on a strategy to end the war in Ukraine. Typical Lindsey,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said of the recent NATO summit.
Graham encouraged Trump to put his stamp on a variety of issues, pressing him to maintain pressure on Russia, endorsing his demands for US ownership of Greenland, and seeking fresh ways to advance the president’s top domestic priority: a stalled federal elections overhaul bill that’s driven a rift between the White House and Senate GOP leaders.
Once so fearful of a Trump presidency that he warned in 2016 that “if we nominate Trump we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it,” Graham spent the final stage of his political life working to expand and shape Trump’s powers.
“They’re concerned when they get up and when they go to bed,” Graham said earlier this year, dismissing the rising anxieties over Trump being expressed by US allies. “If you’re concerned about Trump, get a beer. See a therapist.”