Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum told Newsmax that he will remember Lindsey Graham, the GOP senator from South Carolina who died Saturday night, as a man who struck him as "amazing."
Appearing on "American Agenda" Monday, Santorum said, "I first met him when he was a House manager during the [then-President Bill] Clinton impeachment. I was in the Senate; I had just come over from the House, and I got to know Lindsey there. And he was amazing."
Santorum added that he knew something was different about Graham due to his capacity to leverage humor into political talk. "And going after Bill Clinton," he said, "but in a way that was a little different.
"It had a lot of humor in it. Which you wouldn't think for an impeachment. But there was no place that humor was inappropriate as far as Lindsey Graham was concerned."
Graham's way of using words, Santorum said, put him in a unique position for politics.
"His great sense of humor — and most of it self-deprecating — and in his insights into people that he would needle … he had that ability to make friends on both sides [of] the aisle, and it made him incredibly successful," he said.
Santorum said it also made Graham "a successful diplomat in a sense."
"He was a senator. He was a diplomat. He traveled all over the world … met with world leaders," explained the former senator.
He added that Graham's work on national security issues shows that some politicians "don't get a lot of press [but] have important roles to play in national security, and Lindsey's life now highlights that."
Graham died suddenly late Saturday of apparent cardiac-related issues.
Graham's greatest legacy may be his unwavering advocacy for American strength and national security, Santorum told Newsmax's "Sunday Report," warning that President Donald Trump had lost one of his most trusted foreign policy advisers.
He noted Graham was "a great loss" not only because of his work on judicial confirmations and healthcare, but also because of his decades-long focus on national security.
"There was no one who had a stronger voice for American security than Lindsey Graham," Santorum said.
Graham was "a Reagan Republican" whose belief in "peace through strength" drove his support for higher defense spending and a more assertive U.S. foreign policy, explained Santorum.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com