Senator Darline Graham Cornered on Trump Trashing Her Dead Brother’s Legacy

Sam Wolfe / REUTERS President Donald Trump’s decision to ease a law imposing sanctions on Russia was seen by many as a slap in the face to the legacy of the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.

But Lindsey’s sister, Darline Graham—whom Trump backed in the primary to replace her brother—doesn’t seem prepared to chastise her MAGA champion, even as the president dismantles one of her late brother’s signature legislative achievements.

When pressed on Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russia , Graham seemed unbothered.

“The president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, get gas and diesel prices down, and the sanctions bill is one of the tools we can use to do that.

It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it,” she said on Saturday.

“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia to end the war and get the gas prices low, because I don’t trust Putin and I don’t trust Russia,” she added.

Lindsey Graham, 71, had just returned from a trip to Ukraine when he died unexpectedly in July.

He had been working on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia in an attempt to pressure Putin to end the war.

Graham was unmarried, and his sister was appointed to fill his Senate seat until the end of his term in January 2027.

Graham had planned to run again in November, and his death caught the South Carolina GOP off-guard.

When Darline Graham, 62, indicated she would enter the primary, Trump threw his weight behind her.

In the Senate, Darline Graham also worked to pass the sanctions bill.

It was named for Lindsey and passed the House and Senate over the summer before Trump signed it into law in September.

Trump, desperate to find ways to lower the cost of living ahead of the midterms, struck a late-night deal with Putin after signing the sanctions bill.