Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing a fresh wave of backlash after a fiery political commentator torched the longtime Republican during a blistering reaction to his latest television appearance — calling the interview “revolting” and accusing Graham of humiliating himself to stay loyal to President Donald Trump.
The controversy exploded after Graham appeared on Meet the Press and defended the political downfall of Sen. Bill Cassidy, who recently lost his Republican primary battle after years of criticism from Trump allies.
But it wasn’t Graham’s comments alone that triggered outrage.
It was the tone.
During an episode of “Bulwark Takes,” Republican pollster and publisher Sarah Longwell unleashed on Graham, accusing him of completely surrendering his political identity to Trump.
“What an obsequious piece of garbage Lindsey Graham is,” Longwell said during the discussion.
“That is such a revolting interview.”
Longwell argued Graham appeared desperate to publicly prove his loyalty to Trump, even after once being one of the president’s fiercest Republican critics.
Back in 2015, Graham famously warned that Republicans would be destroyed if they nominated Trump for president.
“We’ll get crushed,” Graham warned at the time.
Now, critics say the South Carolina senator has become one of Trump’s most reliable defenders — especially during the president’s controversial second term.
Graham has aggressively defended Trump on issues ranging from the economy to the ongoing Iran war and even controversies surrounding the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
For many anti-Trump conservatives, the transformation has become symbolic of how dramatically the Republican Party has changed under Trump’s influence.
Longwell pointed to one particular memory that she says perfectly captures Graham’s political evolution.
She recalled how Graham once publicly mocked Trump during the 2016 Republican primary after Trump shared Graham’s phone number publicly.
At the time, Graham filmed himself destroying his phone in a golf-related stunt mocking Trump.
Now, Longwell says, the senator appears willing to do almost anything to stay in Trump’s good graces.
“The extent to which he’s willing to deeply humiliate himself knows no bottom,” she said.
The backlash comes as Trump continues tightening his grip over the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections.
The president has aggressively targeted Republicans who break from him, endorsing primary challengers against lawmakers he considers disloyal — including Rep. Thomas Massie and others who supported efforts tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Meanwhile, Republicans like Graham have increasingly aligned themselves closely with Trump’s messaging and political priorities.
Critics say the result is a Republican Party that now revolves almost entirely around loyalty to Trump personally.
Supporters, however, argue Graham is simply recognizing political reality within today’s GOP.
Still, Longwell’s remarks quickly spread online, with many political observers echoing her frustration over Graham’s dramatic transformation from Trump critic to one of his loudest defenders.