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Washington Honors Sen. Lindsey Graham At National Cathedral; Service Honoring Sen. Graham Begins At National Cathedral; WH: Zelenskyy, Netanyahu Meetings "Positive And Productive"; Trump Meets With Netanyahu Amid Tensions Over Iran War. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 28, 2026 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He died doing the work he was born to do. He was truly a great politician, serving the country he loved to serve so deeply. He went out at the peak of his career, the top of his game, as a legend that every one of us, many of us here today, blessed to know him and a friend that none of us will ever forget. There was truly nobody like Lindsey Graham.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And we're joined again by CNN's Jeff Zeleny and Dave Wilson, a South Carolina Republican strategist who was a consultant on Graham's 2014 campaign, as well as doing promotional work for the senator. We're also joined by CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings.

Scott, what has stood out to you so far as you've been watching this funeral?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, certainly watching President Trump eulogize his friend, not just as a political ally, but as someone that he really cared about. You could tell after the President finished his remarks when we watched the President go back to his seat and he sat down in the pew. This was a sad man. I mean, he was extremely crestfallen to have just eulogized his friend. You saw him tap the casket as he went by.

And so, when I think about Lindsey Graham, when I think about Lindsey Graham's life, obviously the foreign policy, national security passions that he had, that's going to take up a lot of conversation. But his personal friendship with Donald Trump and what he was able to accomplish with Donald Trump, how he was able to persuade him and shape that decision making, I think it leaves a real hole for the President's the next couple of years.

Who will he turn to for that kind of counsel? With whom will he have that sort of close friendship? And so I just, honestly, I look at the President today as being so melancholy. And I'm sad for President Trump because he's lost a very close friend. And a lot of people in Washington, D.C. have lost somebody who they knew they could rely on to always fight for America and fight for the future of the West, which a lot of people in the party think is at stake. And they viewed Graham as a fighter and someone who could influence the President on those topics. And he leaves an enormous hole.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And we are watching the late senator's niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, now essentially take the stage for her dedication to her late uncle. We've already heard from President Trump as well as Fox News host Sean Hannity. Let's listen in to her remarks.

EMILLIE BOGGS ROBERTS, SENATOR GRAHAM'S NIECE: On behalf of our family, thank you all for being here. The outpouring of -- of love has been unbelievable, faith-restoring and deeply healing. In a sense, it feels like we have gotten additional time with Lindsey through all the stories that have been shared with us. I know Lindsey would be so thankful for the kindness that you have shown to his family.

Lindsey was, without a doubt, a family man. His world revolved around my mother, his family, and those he considered such, like his lifelong friends, colleagues, staff, and the citizens of South Carolina. Lindsey was a very busy man. There is no question about that. However, when my mom called, he answered. It didn't matter if he was about to walk into a meeting with the President or another world leader. He would ask, is everything okay? She would say yes. And he would ask, is everybody okay?

That was Lindsey, always worried about others. That is why he dedicated his life to being a civil servant. While writing this eulogy, I sat and I relived a lifetime of memories with Lindsey. I laughed. I cried. But mostly, I immediately felt overwhelmed. There were so many moments filled with laughter, love, and immense joy that I found it so hard to pick the ones to share with you all. How to let the world see a glimpse of Lindsey that his family knew and loved.

From family vacations to holidays, proms, graduations, my sister's volleyball games, he was there for all of it. He even DJ'd a few songs at my husband and I's wedding. Not very well, but -- for those of you who were ever unfortunate enough to go on vacation with Lindsey, I'm sorry. Lindsey never slowed down. And that applied to vacations as well.

[15:05:00]

On Disney trips, we had to be the first ones and we took the last bus out. I remember waiting for the resort bus thinking, finally. And Lindsey's behind me practicing his golf swing.

Lindsey had to squeeze every second of joy out of those trips. See it all and do it all. I joke, but those trips really are some of my best, most authentic moments of him. And then there were the holidays, from Christmas shopping for the ants to Easter egg hunts, which Lindsey made a sport of. He would jokingly, mostly, yell cheater when we would give my little sister hints on where to find the eggs.

Lindsey may not have lived a life as long as we would have liked, but it was a fulfilled one. He made sure of that. As many of you know, my mother and Lindsey lost their parents when my mother was 12 and 13 years old and Lindsey was in college. Lindsey became brother, father, and mother to my mother overnight. It is a story that has been shared over and over. I grew up hearing that story, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I really processed what it meant.

My mother said Lindsey would come home to visit every weekend from the University of South Carolina in Columbia while she was living with their aunt and uncle in Seneca. That is over a two hour trip, one way, every weekend as a young man in college. And that was only the beginning. Without a second thought, Lindsey made sure that he was there for his little sister and he never stopped.

Lindsey was always there for all of us. He held more than one role for each of us. He wasn't just an uncle, a brother, a nephew, he was the foundation of our family.

In our family, when you needed advice, a problem solved, or a helping hand, you turned to Lindsey. But hopefully the help didn't involve cleaning or manual labor, because if so, you were out of luck. Lindsey was there the day I was born. He held my son in the hospital the day he was born. And I had no doubt that he would have been there and will still be there in spirit the day my second child is born.

My husband and I shared with my mother that we were pregnant the evening of Lindsey's passing. The first thing she did was pick up the phone to call him to tell him the great news, just like I knew she would. She never got to tell him, but I have no doubt that he knows and is thrilled. Lindsey was always so supportive of me. That is just how he was, fiercely supportive, fiercely protective.

Unfortunately, over the years, I've had a long line of health issues, and Lindsey was there every step of the way. He was by my bedside with my mother for every major surgery.

In 2011, after my first surgery, when my brain started to swell, I grabbed for Lindsey and said, my head hurts, before losing consciousness. Most people probably would have been like, well, yes, of course your head hurts, you just had brain surgery, makes sense. But with my mom having stepped down the hall for a break, he jumped into action and immediately got the nurse, no doubt preventing a catastrophe and likely saving my life.

However, as much as he did to save my life that day, he also put it in danger many a times with his driving. Those of you who did not have the privilege of riding with Lindsey Graham, consider yourself blessed. BMW must make one heck of a tank for a car, I'll say that.

But in all seriousness, nothing was happening to me on his watch, and I believe that to my core, we all did. No matter the situation with Lindsey around, at the end of the day, it would all be okay. To be loved by Lindsey was to be truly blessed.

It is the circle of life that we must all return home to our creator one day. But in my mind, Lindsey was invincible. He was so strong, confident, witty, and full of life. How lucky were all of us to have known Lindsey. He was a humble man from humble beginnings and he never forgot that. He took care of people in need. He defended the defenseless. He put everyone above himself. He was the most selfless person I have ever known. As they say, he would have given someone the shirt off of his back. He was strong-willed, hardworking, and his loyalty was unwavering. You

could always count on Lindsey.

[15:10:02]

But most of all, Lindsey was a godly man. So while we grieve our loss here on earth, I find great comfort knowing that he has gone home to reunite with his mother and father that he lost far too young. So, I count my many blessings to have known him and to have loved him. And I rejoice in his memory.

Today we celebrate a life well-lived, a life well-loved. Thank you.

KEILAR: A tearful tribute from Emillie Boggs Roberts, the late Senator Lindsey Graham's niece there, as she describes that side of Lindsey Graham, the family man spending time with his sister, Darline, and his nieces and grand -- not grandchildren, grandnieces or nephews, and just being such a big part of that family.

He didn't have his own family, Dave. So, this was -- this was really the family that he spent, so -- he didn't have, I should say, an immediate nuclear family, right?

DAVE WILSON, SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: He was ...

KEILAR: His own children, he wasn't married.

WILSON: Yes, wasn't married.

KEILAR: And so this was who he dedicated his time to. He -- Lindsey Graham always had a sense of humor about him. And I think that's one of the things that you are seeing through this, even as she is so tearful, she is making jokes about her uncle.

WILSON: Right.

KEILAR: President Trump made jokes about him. And what we heard from Sean Hannity, he was making jokes. And I think that that really speaks to who Lindsey Graham was.

WILSON: Lindsey Graham was always serious about his work, but had a levity about him.

KEILAR: Yes.

WILSON: He had an ability to create a sense of belonging for you. And humor was always a part of it. There was never a moment, he was at 4th of July events, and he would make positive comments that you just sat there and you felt like, oh, my friend's come over to be a part of this event with me. The jokes, the laughter, because that was his opening foray into relating with you as a person. Humor was a huge part of his life.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Without a doubt, and was just happy -- a happy warrior, as we've heard him described. But when you saw him out, either in the halls of the Senate, as we've all, you know, talked to him over the years, almost always had time for reporters, loved the press, loved telling stories and talking about things, but also on the campaign trail.

I mean, in thinking back to, he truly thought that he could be the Republican nominee for president back in 2015. And I'm thinking the first time that I saw now Senator Darline Graham was when she was riding on a golf cart with him at the Iowa State Fair. And he didn't have his own family in terms of being married with children, but he brought his sister along. And he was a very joyful politician. And I think his niece there humanized him in a way that we can talk about foreign policy, we can talk about his -- his relationship with the U.S. president, but it was that family connection there that actually was very authentic and legitimate as well.

And again, Senator Darline Graham, who'll be standing for election, we initially thought she would be effectively a placeholder. She has decided that she's going to run for this seat. So Dave, you're actually obviously in South Carolina ...

WILSON: Right.

ZELENY: ... but is this going to make it more difficult for some of his challengers here in two weeks to run against her? I mean, this is unusual. I can't think of a time where this has happened, where there's an election in such a short period of time after the funeral.

WILSON: Yes, there is -- there is such a compressed timeframe here, Jeff. I think that's the part that you have to keep in mind because November is coming quickly, and there are rules in the way that elections take place in South Carolina. Once it's announced, there's a -- a time period ...

ZELENY: And it's on August 11th.

WILSON: ... August 11th.

ZELENY: Right.

WILSON: So, there are currently, depending upon which count you want to do, five to eight people, four or five of those are probably real contenders. But you have to also keep in mind that Darline Graham, while she has been out there on the campaign trail, has not been a campaigner herself. She's campaigned for her brother, and she does a phenomenal job with that.

I think you've got challengers, though, who were allies of Trump. Representative Russell Fry out of the 7th Congressional District is one who was a very staunch Trump ally, ran for -- with that in his congressional campaign in the primary, won the primary handily in the Myrtle Beach, Horry County, Grand Strand area. And now you have him in the race. Trump has all but endorsed Darline Graham. And I think that that is part of a tribute to Lindsey more than anything at all.

SANCHEZ: Undoubtedly, no matter who takes that seat, enormous shoes to fill, especially, Scott Jennings, when it comes to foreign policy and his view of an assertive United States when it comes to relations with the world, notably attending this service at the National Cathedral today.

[15:15:10]

You have two prominent world leaders in Benjamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Talk to us about that aspect of Graham's legacy.

JENNINGS: Well, his respect that he had around the world from people like Netanyahu and Zelenskyy was enormous. He was a counselor to our president, Donald Trump, but he was also a counselor to them. He could speak Trump to them. He could help them understand the political undulations in the United States. He could help them understand how to communicate with the President. And he also strongly believed in what was going on in terms of the difference between right and wrong.

He believed that the Ukrainians needed to repel and defeat these Russian invaders. He believed that Israel needed to defeat this terrorist regime in Iran. And so, you had someone with extraordinarily hawkish, strong world policy, foreign policy views, and he had this unique ability to go back and forth between the leader of the free world, President Trump, and the leaders of these countries with which we are allied.

It was a role that really nobody else could play. And so, now that he's gone, you wonder about that. You wonder about the -- the hole that that leaves. But there's no doubt, Boris, that Lindsey Graham's worldview and his policy views and the information he was able to take back and forth had an influence on how the United States acted here because you -- you did have people in President Trump's ear that wanted him to abandon Ukraine. You had people in President Trump's ear that wanted him to stay out of this fight to defeat the terror regime in Iran.

But obviously, Lindsey Graham was on the other side of that and was quite influential. And so, now that he's gone, we'll -- we'll see who picks up that mantle. But there's no doubt it was a unique role that he had carved out for himself over so many years of playing it in Washington, D.C.

WILSON: I think to Scott's point, Boris, you -- you have to look at this and realize that Lindsey Graham could, as you said a moment ago, interpret Trump. He could speak Trump-ese (ph) to foreign dignitaries to say, you're going to hear this, this is what this means. Let me put this into context. And, oh yes, by the way, as soon as I get back, I'm going to go have a conversation and I'll make sure that everything's patched up so that when you get here, we have plans in place and we're going to be able to accomplish things.

KEILAR: That he was ...

WILSON: That was his goal.

KEILAR: ... he was a facilitator ...

WILSON: Very much so, very much so.

KEILAR: ... in -- in a way there. And it's interesting, and to Scott's point as well, where is that counterpoint going to be that Lindsey Graham is someone who was telling Trump maybe things he didn't know, right, Jeff? And that was very ...

ZELENY: For sure.

KEILAR: ... helpful to President Trump. I mean, Scott was saying who's going to take his place. I don't know if there is someone who can take Lindsey Graham's place in that kind of role.

ZELENY: I think there absolutely is not anyone who fills the shoes immediately. And also, we heard earlier, the Senate Majority Leader John Thune talking about his deep friendship with Lindsey Graham. But he also was someone who, for all of President Trump's attacks on John Thune and others about changing the filibuster, Senator Graham -- Lindsey Graham was someone who was a bit of a protector to the institution. He loved the institution of the U.S. Senate, and that is gone as well.

I think if anyone could sort of fill that void in terms of being a Trump whisperer, if you will, Senator Katie Britt from Alabama, a very close friend of Lindsey Graham's. She's close to the White House. She is someone that I hear from Republican senators who may sort of fill that void. But certainly those shoes will not be immediately filled because he is a throwback in so many ways in this era.

KEILAR: Yes, he certainly is.

WILSON: I think that also goes back to a history of, especially when you look at senators in South Carolina. In the last 50, 60 years, there have only been five people to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

ZELENY: He replaced Strom Thurmond.

WILSON: He did.

ZELENY: Think about that.

KEILAR: Yes, it is something to think about. As we are watching here, the service honoring Senator Lindsey Graham at the National Cathedral, we have listened to these tributes about him really characterizing the different aspects, I think, of his life and his contributions to family, to political service, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, clearly difficult for his niece, especially Emillie Boggs Roberts, in describing how overwhelmed she was in -- in writing the eulogy, talking about there being so many joyous moments sharing life with him that it was difficult to encapsulate that in just a short speech. Jeff Zeleny, Scott Jennings, Dave Wilson, thank you all for the conversation.

Still plenty more news to come. The midterm elections, less than four months away, Brianna.

KEILAR: That's right. President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to make sweeping changes to mail-in voting across the country.

SANCHEZ: Plus, after its record-setting public offering last month, SpaceX stock is tumbling. Its founder, Elon Musk, losing hundreds of billions in just about a month.

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[15:24:10]

SANCHEZ: Today, President Trump held back-to-back, face-to-face meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. And the White House, just a short time ago, calling both sit-downs productive and positive. All of this, of course, happening just hours before the President delivered the eulogy at the funeral for Senator Lindsey Graham, which we brought to you. One of his biggest supporters and a strong ally for both Israel and Ukraine. Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, notably, were in attendance.

Let's discuss with Elise Labott. She's the host of the Cosmopolitics podcast on Substack.

Thank you so much for being with us, Elise.

As one of Graham's final acts ...

ELISE LABOTT, HOST, "COSMOPOLITICS" ON SUBSTACK: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: ... he -- he worked with the White House on a Russia sanctions package, right? Some of his Senate colleagues are now pushing an updated version of that, targeting the top five importers of Russian energy, the countries that buy it as well.

[15:25:00]

What would be the impact of this passing?

LABOTT: Well, I think, you know, listen. Nobody better than Lindsey Graham has been pushing for Ukraine and also had, I think, a little bit more criticism of his actions pushing the war in Iran. But he was one of the most stalwart supporters of Zelenskyy in Ukraine.

And you remember, what a difference a year makes, Boris. You look back to, you know, a little over a year ago, President Trump and President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, that contentious conversation. The very next day, Lindsey Graham was telling, you know, allies and supporters and journalists, got to get this relationship back on track. And he worked very hard to get President Trump to soften on Zelenskyy, to get Zelenskyy to understand President Trump.

And as your other guest was saying, speak Trump-ese. And so, I think a year later, both leaders support each other. They respect each other more. I think they understand each other. And now, look, President Trump, Boris, he likes a winner. And you've seen the kind of turnaround that the Ukrainians have had, not just on the battlefield, but in technological innovation, that drone warfare that's very successful on the battlefield against Russia, but also Ukraine helping the Gulf allies with -- with drone technology to combat Iran, making it a little easier for the U.S. to focus on Iran because it's not so much focused on defending its allies.

And so, you also talk about NATO and, you know, whether Ukraine should be a member of NATO. NATO is now studying Ukraine as a lesson in innovation and how the Europeans can gain more strategic kind of autonomy and defense. And so, when you see the kind of turnaround of Zelenskyy and Ukraine in President Trump's eyes, I think that kind of is a mirror, it reflects the opposite of what's going on with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

SANCHEZ: I do want to ask you about President Trump responding to some statements made by President Zelenskyy regarding the Kremlin sharing satellite imagery and -- and sensitive intelligence about U.S. bases in the Middle East with Iran. President Trump was asked about that. He said that he would ask Vladimir Putin directly about it. What do you make of that skepticism from President Trump? I should note that CNN reported that this was happening several months ago.

LABOTT: Well, I think it's no question that the Russians have supported Iran. The Iranians have supported Russia in the war against Ukraine. I think, you know, listen, President Trump might've turned around on Zelenskyy, but that doesn't mean that I think he's hardened his position against Vladimir Putin. And he said, oh, I'll -- I'll ask Putin. Putin will tell me. Yes, nod, nod, wink, wink. Sure I didn't.

I mean, U.S. intelligence shows that they have. And so, I think, you know, it's really hard for President Trump to, you know, quit Vladimir Putin. But I think the more the Ukrainians are showing success on the battlefield, one of the things he was talking Zelenskyy to President Trump today was about, you know, Patriot missiles, not just the actual missiles themselves and the interceptors, but licensing to produce their own Patriots. And so that's ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

LABOTT: ... in President Trump's mind, that's, you know, a dream situation.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I -- I'm also curious to get your thoughts on Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, meeting with President Trump amid a bit of a strain, a rough patch between the two leaders who historically had been fairly close. I wonder what you make of his visit, what it means now that we have this pause in the fighting between the U.S. and Iran, and also with the elections coming up in Israel in -- in a matter of months.

LABOTT: Well, Prime Minister Netanyahu really does want to escalate this war. That's why he's here. He said he wants to get President Trump's thoughts on, I'm just going to take my earpiece out because it's a little mixed (INAUDIBLE) that president -- Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to escalate the war. He wants to continue to go against the Iranians. President Trump really kind of wants to get out, but I really think his relationship with Prime Minister determines whether he, you know, pick a petal. Does he love me? Does he love me not?

It's really about how he's vacillating on what he wants to do with the war in Iran. Sometimes he wants to escalate, sometimes he doesn't. Prime Minister Netanyahu also, as you mentioned, facing that election challenge. This is the most precarious time for Prime Minister Netanyahu, really for any Israeli Prime Minister.

And so, President Trump really has him right where he wants him. He has total control over what Netanyahu can do right now. The thing is, President Trump really doesn't know what he wants to do. My understanding is that there are talks going on, not at a very high level, but technical experts between the Iranians and the U.S. are going on.

[15:30:09]