'I almost cried': Unreleased footage shows Lindsey Graham celebrating US strikes on Iran

Unreleased documentary footage shows late senator Lindsey Graham celebrating while listening to President Donald Trump's announcement of the military strikes on Iran. In the clips shared by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the South Carolina lawmaker, who died earlier this month after suffering an aortic dissection, could be heard saying, "I almost cried" on learning about the strikes.

Shortly after the U.S.-Israeli strikes began on February 28, Graham celebrated while speaking to the camera crew that was filming the documentary currently titled 'Lindsey's Game'. "Look what we've done here. I almost cried," he said in the viral footage. He also told the filmmakers that he spoke to President Donald Trump on the same morning about the operation, and he appeared to be quite enthusiastic. "It's the best thing I've ever done. He loves blowing stuff up. There were a lot of people inside who didn't want to do it, so I had my challenges. But President Trump, when he gets into the zone, he listens, asks good questions," he said. Further in the footage, he praised Trump as a "great wartime president" and even compared him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the duo of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. "I mean, they're the right two guys to confront this evil," he said. 

The conversation was recorded by filmmaker Alex Holder, who has followed Graham since 2023 and was provided with extensive access to the late Senator's meetings, travel, and telephone conversations. Now, as per the Journal, Holder is reviewing hundreds of hours of footage for the documentary, which he intends to release in the coming months. Graham had reportedly agreed to participate in the film as he wanted to show his Senate career and encourage others to enter public service. The documentary also captures his calls with Trump, Netanyahu and even Democratic former national security adviser Jake Sullivan as Graham cheered on the war efforts. 

Over the last decade, Graham became one of Trump’s most trusted counselors, a longtime advisor of the president told CNN. Throughout his decades-long career, Graham was a staunch supporter of the U.S. military campaigns, and he backed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, opposed Russia and China, called for unflinching and unlimited support for Israel, and was one of the most vocal advocates of the war on Iran.

While Graham predicted a swift win for the U.S. in the war, the conflict seems to be dragging on despite the two sides signing an interim agreement to work out a framework for peace. After 13 nights of intensifying U.S. airstrikes on Iran, the Pentagon on Friday suspended the campaign with no strikes reported on either Saturday or Sunday. Iran, which had been retaliating for each of the U.S. attacks with its own strikes ​on neighbouring countries that host U.S. bases, also held fire for the two days. Tehran's position "remains 'attack ​for attack': if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations," an Iranian official told Reuters. "That message has already been conveyed to the United ⁠States," the official added. On the other hand, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told 'Fox News Sunday' that Trump had decided to halt the attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.