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Corruption of Lindsey Graham
The Corruption of Lindsey Graham
A case study in the rise of authoritarianism. Sen. Lindsey Graham is a central player in the Republican party’s capitulation to Donald Trump. We can…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
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The Corruption of Lindsey Graham
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Chapter One: Graham’s Moral Clarity
Lindsey Graham immediately recognized how dangerous Donald Trump was—calling him “hateful,” a “kook,” a “demagogue,” and a “race-baiting, xenophobic…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
327

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Special Projects by The Bulwark
Chapter One: Graham’s Moral Clarity
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Chapter Two: A Trump’s Best Friend
A WEEK AFTER Trump’s election, Graham went on TV to start sucking up. He had congratulated the president-elect; now he wanted to build a relationship.
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
126

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Chapter Two: A Trump’s Best Friend
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Chapter Three: Power Shift
ON JANUARY 11, 2018, A YEAR INTO his presidency, Trump exploded during a White House meeting on immigration. Trump’s eruption and the scramble to cover…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
96

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Chapter Three: Power Shift
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Chapter Four: Domestic Enemies
Graham had finally earned Trump’s love. He was earning the love of Trump’s voters, too. These were the voters Graham had shunned as haters in 2015. But…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
87

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Chapter Four: Domestic Enemies
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Chapter Five: The First Impeachment
To the president’s critics, his coercion of Ukraine was confirmation of his unfitness for office. But his supporters saw a pattern of persecution: Trump…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
72

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Chapter Five: The First Impeachment
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Chapter Six: Insurrection Day
Graham had lost faith in the viability of a Trump-free Republican party. And he had convinced himself that Democratic-led government would be ruinous…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
79

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Chapter Six: Insurrection Day
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Chapter Seven: Return of the Orange God-King
TRUMP’S DECLARATION OF WAR on RINOs—Republicans in name only—set the stage for the next two years. He could no longer control the party through…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
90

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Chapter Seven: Return of the Orange God-King
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Epilogue: Lessons
I set out to research the story of Graham’s relationship with Trump because I wanted to understand how authoritarianism arose in the United States. I…
May 9, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
195

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Epilogue: Lessons
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Ep. 1: The Corruption of Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham was once one of Donald Trump’s fiercest critics—before becoming one of his most important collaborators.
May 8, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
20

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26:48
Ep 2: A Trump’s Best Friend
While Lindsey Graham spent most of the 2016 campaign excoriating Trump as a toxic demagogue, he began transforming into his chief apologist after the…
May 8, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
5

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27:57
Ep 3: Power Shift
After Trump’s first year in office, the power shifted in Washington.
May 8, 2023 • 
Will Saletan
6

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34:52
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