Who was Lindsey Graham? Stories told at his SC funeral give insight 14%
By Ruth Cronin18%
7/31/2026, 2:08:58 AM
Keywords: Lindsey Graham, Funeral, South Carolina, Trey Gowdy, Henry Mcmaster, Scott C Farmer, Politics
BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Halo Effect, Availability Heuristic, and Appeal to Emotion, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 12.3% saturation with 123 hits. Analysis detected 748 faulty-reasoning hits from 997 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 23.8% and a BS Rank of 14% (24,407 of 28,112 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.80% of the article peer group.
Friends and colleagues shared personal stories about the late former U.S.
Sen.
Lindsey Graham at his funeral.
Gov.
Henry McMaster recalled Graham's "unabashed joy" and ability to bring laughter to those around him.
McMaster also shared a story of Graham showing bipartisan unity with Democratic Sen.
Ernest "Fritz" Hollings.
Since former U.S.
Sen.
Lindsey Graham died on July 11, countless stories from those who knew him have offered a deeper look at who he was.
Graham's South Carolina funeral was held in Columbia on July 29, beginning with a procession from the Statehouse to the First Baptist Church of Columbia, where political leaders and friends reflected on Graham's legacy.
After the service, Graham was returned to his hometown of Central, South Carolina, for a private burial.
Graham was well known for decades of military and public service, but the stories shared by South Carolinians during the funeral revealed his more personal side.
Trey Gowdy: Why Lindsey Graham was never married
Trey Gowdy, former congressman and Fox television host, paid tribute to Graham, his longtime friend, telling a story that shed light on a question that many members of the public have wondered for years: Why was Lindsey Graham never married?
Gowdy recalled Graham coming to him when he decided to run for president in 2016 and asking – What do I need to do to be more competitive in a presidential race?
"I said, you need to get married, Senator Graham," Gowdy recalled.
Gowdy said that Graham told him that there are some things he is not willing to do, even if it meant not being the president.
While the media and public often bring up that Graham was never married, they don't get the reason why, right, Gowdy said.
"I know why he was never married," Gowdy said.
"I sat through a wedding ceremony with him."
Gowdy recounted attending U.S.
Sen.
Tim Scott's wedding with Graham.
He recalled waiting with his wife for Graham, who was running late, to arrive.
"He showed up in cargo pants and a shirt, like a T-shirt," Gowdy said.
"And my wife, who is the sweetest human being on the face of the earth, said 'Chairman Graham, would you like us to wait while you change?'
and he said 'change what?
I mean you can barely see the stains.'"
Through an eruption of laughter from funeral guests, Gowdy went on to explain that Graham was never married because he would not have made it through the wedding vows, considering he didn't make it through Tim and Mindy Scott's.
"When the pastor got to for better or for worse, Lindsey whispered to me like an F5 tornado, 'Like, how sick are we talking about?
You mean like seasonal allergies?
You mean a cold?'
"My wife is trying to get us to calm down, and then they get to for richer or for poorer, and you can imagine what his reaction to that was - 'Tim, don't do it, negotiate.'"
"You have no idea how hard it is to get kicked out of a wedding, but we managed to do it."
Henry McMaster: Humor and 'unabashed joy'
South Carolina Gov.
Henry McMaster also spoke during the service, describing Graham as a "poor boy from a little town in South Carolina," as he said Graham described himself.
McMaster said that Graham completed the many milestones of his career with humility and humor.
He shared being on the campaign bus with Graham and the late U.S.
Sen.
John McCain leading up to the 2008 presidential election.
Graham reenacted scenes from the 2000 television comedy "Da Ali G Show."
"As the bus rolled along, Lindsey would invariably begin retelling those scenes, acting them out, first through chuckles, then laughing, until finally his words became incoherent - by which time Senator McCain would be in hysterics," McMaster said.
"Peals of laughter were engulfing the ever cynical consultants and reporters in the back of the bus."
McMaster said he will never forget the sight of the unabashed joy shared by Graham and McCain.
Scott C.
Farmer: My boss, my friend, my mentor
Scott C.
Farmer, who ran Graham's political campaigns for many years, said a prayer at Graham's funeral service.
He shared that a couple of years ago he called Graham to tell him that God was calling him out of the campaign world and into ministry, and that Graham would need a new campaign manager for his 2026 race.
"He paused for a second and said, 'Scott, do you not think what we do is important?'"
Farmer said.
Farmer replied that it is critically important, but it's not eternal.
To that, Graham paused and said: "I understand."
"For 25 years he was my boss, my friend, my mentor," Farmer said.
McMaster: 'Not many men would've done what Lindsey did'
In 2002, the year Graham was elected U.S.
Senator and McMaster South Carolina attorney general.
McMaster said Graham took his oath in Washington first, and was present for McMaster and Gov.
Mark Stanford to take theirs at the Statehouse.
The names of the political figures were announced in sequence as they came out onto the steps of the Statehouse to take their seats for the ceremony, and at that moment Graham did something McMaster said most wouldn't have done.
"Ours being mostly a Republican state then and now, Senator Hollings, a longtime Democrat, received noticeably polite applause," McMaster said.
"As it began to subside, Lindsey's name was announced, and his applause immediately began to swell.
Lindsey reached over and grabbed Senator Hollings' hand and raised it high with his own.
"So there we were, if you get this picture, our two U.S.
Senators, hands held high, waving to the crowd when the thunderous applause washed over both of them."
"I believe that not many men would have done what Lindsey did," McMaster said.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development.
Contact her at rcronin@usatodayco.com.
Speakers
5speakers79%attributed speech208writer words
Selected voice
59%flagged-word coverageTrey Gowdy
349 attributed words44% of attributed speech23% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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