Anthony Zurcher: From Trump critic to ally, Lindsey Graham was a political survivor of the Maga era

Lindsey Graham, who has died aged 71, was a political survivor. His career as a Republican senator served as a telling barometer for the dramatically changing climate in his political party - and America - in the Donald Trump era. While there were certain issues central to Graham's political identity - including a hawkish foreign policy that focused on containing Russian global ambitions, support for Israel and regime change in Iran - his 23-year career in the Senate was marked by a willingness to adapt to the gale-force change of political winds that accompanied Trump's rise to power. Shortly after being elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002, Graham became a close ally of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who, while a staunch conservative, developed a national reputation for political independence. When Graham ran for president in 2015, the idea of cooling partisan tensions and working with political opponents was one of his central messages. If I get to be president, we're going to open up a bar in the White House, Graham said.