Trump mourned Sen. Lindsey Graham as 'family' after his death, despite their bitter past clashes; The two became close allies, with Graham advising Trump on foreign policy and working to advance Israel-Saudi normalizationIt happened after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Sen. Lindsey Graham decided that the president he had staunchly supported had crossed a line by effectively backing the masses of rioters who stormed one of the pillars of American democracy — and announced that he was breaking their alliance.“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president,” an emotional Graham said after the rioters were removed from the Capitol and lawmakers returned to complete the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, which Trump still refuses to accept.GalleryGraham with Trump, in 2013. Even the Capitol riots didn't stop the alliance (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)"All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,” Graham said at the time.But it was not enough.Graham, the senior senator from South Carolina who died suddenly Saturday night at age 71, reportedly following a heart attack, realized that his party’s future was closely tied to Trump. Within a short time, he became one of Trump’s most loyal allies once again.What appeared at the time to be a final rupture instead became another twist in the long and complicated relationship between the influential senator and the president who reshaped the Republican Party.“Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no,” Graham said in May 2021, just four months after the January 6 riot. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”Trump, who called Graham a “true American patriot” on Sunday, expressed disbelief over the sudden death of the man who, particularly since Trump returned to the White House last year, had become an important adviser on a range of issues — especially regarding the war with Iran.Graham with the president in 2020. 'Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no' (Photo: AP Photo/Mike McCarn)“I just can’t believe it,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” a program on which Graham had been scheduled to appear that day.“He was like a member of the family,” Trump added, saying he had spoken with Graham “minutes” before the medical emergency.According to Trump, Graham had just returned to the United States from a weekend trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The senator told him he was “tired” but felt fine.Trump described Graham as a “fantastic” person and added that he possessed “a unique ability — he was able to deal with Democrats. If I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out.”Immediately after that interview, Trump spoke with CNN and was asked about his past clashes with Graham, particularly when Graham challenged him in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.“He ran against me, and he was, you know, formidable. He was a tough cookie. He was tough and smart. And that's where I got to know him, on the campaign,” Trump said. “And he was a smart guy. And it was a nasty campaign. He was tough and nasty. But I was nasty too. And it worked out fine.”Later that evening, in another tribute to his late ally, Trump announced that he had ordered all flags at U.S. government facilities to be lowered to half-staff until Saturday at 6 p.m., meaning they would remain lowered for nearly a week.Trump announced that he had ordered all flags at US government facilities to be lowered to half-staff (Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis)(Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)Graham frequently advised Trump on foreign policy, particularly on issues involving Israel, Ukraine and Iran, and was a regular visitor to the White House. He was known for his sharp sense of humor, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller recalled, for example, that “at the end of a particularly thrilling and rollicking meeting in the Oval Office, Lindsey Graham turned to the room and said: ‘I’ve never had this much fun in my life.’”Miller said the meetings Graham attended were “were filled with camaraderie, kinship and uproarious laughter.”