Former VP Mike Pence Reveals Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Last Words To Him

Former Vice President Mike Pence made an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday.

Pence was on the network to promote the new senate bill that aims to place further sanctions on Russia.

The Senate bill has been making headlines due to the fact late Senator Lindsey Graham was one of the major sponsors behind the bill.

Pence in his interview also shared the words Graham said to him while the two saw each other in an airport.

Fox News provided Graham’s last words to Pence:

For Pence, however, Graham’s final legislative push is inseparable from one of their last conversations together.

He still remembers the meeting vividly.

Pence and his wife, Karen, had just landed at Reagan National Airport and were making their way through the terminal when they spotted Graham heading toward another gate.

As he almost always did, Graham began by asking about Pence’s family.

The senator wanted updates on Pence’s son, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and his son-in-law, a Navy fighter pilot. Pence said Graham never forgot to ask about them.

But after briefly catching up, the conversation shifted to the issue occupying Graham’s attention in his final months.

“We went straight into a conversation about Ukraine sanctions,” Pence recalled.

Graham immediately leaned in.

“He did one of those — puts his finger in my chest — and said, ‘You just stay on this. This is the way we’re gonna get this done. This is the way you bring Putin to the table.'”

ADVERTISEMENT

The two men embraced before heading toward separate gates.

“We parted with a handshake and a hug,” Pence said.

Looking back, Pence said that brief airport encounter perfectly captured the man he had known for decades.

Watch Pence here:

There would be no more fitting tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham than for the Congress to take up that Russian Sanctions bill, put it on the President’s desk and have President Trump Sign it into Law.

Lindsey knew who we were dealing with in Vladimir Putin. Now is the Time to… pic.twitter.com/gVyhzCo5sX

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) July 15, 2026

Yahoo News reported President Trump was one of the last people to speak to Graham before his death:

President Donald Trump just revealed the last words U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said to him before his sudden death at 71.

On Saturday, Graham died following a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement, per NBC News. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” it added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Graham was scheduled to appear on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” — but instead, Trump, 80, was featured on the NBC program. The POTUS called into the show, telling moderator Kristen Welker, “He’s a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way, actually.”

Trump continued, “What makes it even stranger is that I got a call last night, sometime in the early evening… and he called, and he said we’re all set for the Save America Act. He was pushing the Save America Act like crazy. In fact, he said he just landed from Ukraine.”

Additionally, the president told Welker that Graham “sounded a little bit tired” after meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “He had a right to be,” Trump said. “I mean, he was a worker. He really was a worker.”

“But he sounded great,” the POTUS added. “… We thought we might even meet today. And then, that was it. And that was around the time, it couldn’t have been much longer. It could have been his last call. I don’t know, exactly.”

ADVERTISEMENT

President Trump took a moment to pay his respects to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, calling him "a great politician" who "got along with almost everybody.”

The president said he spoke to Graham after he returned from Ukraine about the SAVE America Act, and added that the senator… pic.twitter.com/ZlszDoMaF1

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 14, 2026