Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was a passionate defender of Israel who believed lasting peace could only be secured through strength, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Newsmax on Sunday.
"I woke up in Israel to the news this morning, and it took me a while to even process it, because Lindsey and I just communicated this past week, but I had no idea it would be the last time we would ever communicate," Huckabee said on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda."
Graham, 71, had just returned from his 10th trip to Ukraine and had remained deeply involved in foreign policy debates involving Israel, Iran, Russia, and the war in Ukraine.
Huckabee said Graham had devoted his life to public service and had no intention of slowing down.
"Lindsey is one of those people that decided early in life that he'd rather burn out than rust out," Huckabee said. "Well, he didn't rust out. He burned out, and he gave it all."
Huckabee rejected the characterization of Graham as a warmonger, saying the South Carolina Republican understood that weakness often invited conflict.
"I don't know of anyone who was more passionate about trying to see peace happen in the world," Huckabee said. "It's amazing to me that there are people who are so foolishly ignorant of Lindsey Graham. They thought he was some kind of warmonger. That's not the case at all. But he understood that real peace comes through strength. It doesn't come through weakness."
Huckabee said Graham's support for Israel was rooted in both faith and a belief in the shared values linking the two nations.
"He understood the biblical role that Israel has played in really bringing light and law to the world," Huckabee said. "Without that, without the Judeo-Christian foundation, there would never have been Western civilization."
Graham also recognized Israel as a rare democracy in the Middle East, Huckabee said, one that protects freedom of speech, religion, and movement.
"He loved Israel," Huckabee said. "He loved the fact that the U.S. and Israeli partnership had so much value for both countries, and that we had so much in common in terms of our values."
Huckabee said Graham would be mourned not only by Israeli officials but also by ordinary citizens who knew of his unwavering support.
"I can assure you, there is deep mourning going on throughout the state of Israel tonight," Huckabee said.
He also praised Graham's willingness to work across party lines, saying the senator focused less on ideology than on whether a policy would improve people's lives.
"Lindsey would ask himself, is this going to make things better, make it worse, and will it work?" Huckabee said. "If it would make things better and if it would work, he'd be for it, even if he partnered with Democrats to get it done."
Huckabee said he would personally miss Graham's humor and ability to put others at ease.
"He was funny. He was never mean," Huckabee said. "Those kind of people who could laugh at themselves, but also could just love life enough to find something humorous in it, those are the kind of people we need a heck of a lot more of."
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