Key Ally of Donald Trump Dies

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

0:30and often hidden ways, the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 2.50. Listen to the global story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:55Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service studios in central London. I'm Tim Franks. In a moment, we'll get the latest on the latest strikes between the US and Iran in the Middle East. They've also brought in the small country of Oman. We'll be hearing from there in a few minutes. But before that, one of the big figures of US politics, the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, has died at the age of 71. His office issued a statement just saying that he'd suffered a brief and sudden illness. Graham was seen as an old-school, hawkish Republican, a senator who backed a pugnacious interventionist foreign policy when it came to Ukraine and, indeed, to Iran.

1:37He was also seen as a close ally of President Trump, although it had been a relationship with bumps, as we'll hear. This was Lindsey Graham extolling the president just after securing the nomination earlier this year to seek a fifth term in office as the Republican candidate for the Senate seat in South Carolina in the forthcoming midterm elections. I want to start with President Donald J. Trump. I just talked to him, so I know he's watching. Mr. President, when you endorsed me early on, it changed everything. You're the gold standard in the Republican world, the most consequential endorsement, I think, in the history of politics.

2:16And when you spoke, the people of South Carolina listened. And President Trump, I'm coming back to the Senate in 27. I'm going to win in November. I'm going to help you change this world and change this country. Senator Graham was a hugely experienced, experienced, excuse me, as well as influential Washington politician, first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994, before getting his Senate seat, which he'd held since 2002, writing to become chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. But as I mentioned, the praise you just heard him pour on the president wasn't always the tone he struck.

2:53In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump's first victory, Lindsey Graham announced that he'd voted for the independent candidate, Evan McMullin. The senator then swung behind President Trump before in the wake of Mr. Trump's refusal to accept the 2020 election defeat and the subsequent invasion of Capitol Hill by his supporters on January the 6th, 2021, Lindsey Graham said it's over. Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it being this way. Oh, my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he's been a consequential president. But today, first thing you'll see, all I can say is count me out.

3:34Enough is enough. But then, as Don Trump began campaigning for a second term, the pair reconciled again. As I mentioned, Lindsey Graham had a reputation for championing a traditional Republican view of a bold, outward-facing posture for the U.S. in foreign policy. And just last week, he was in Ukraine meeting President Zelensky. I'm pleased to announce, as of about 30 minutes ago, we've reached agreement with the White House on a version of the Russian sanctions bill that they will support. It means it's going to become law. So when I get back to Washington, I'm going to go with Senator Blumenthal to the Republican, the Democratic leader to see if we can find time to move this Russian sanctions package that would give tools to President Trump to help end this war.

4:28Greg Swenson is chairman of Republicans Overseas UK. What are his thoughts today? It was a shock to hear the news. I think most people were quite surprised because he was in good health and he was in Kiev on Friday, I mean, just two days ago. It's a shock and really sad day for his family, but also for the party because he was such an important part of the infrastructure of the Republican Party. Important in what way? You know, he was just a prominent figure in a couple of ways. One is, you know, he's been a senator since 2002. So, you know, he's one of the longer serving senators, but also very influential in foreign affairs and foreign policy.

5:10admittedly a hawk. He carried a very prominent role in foreign policy, but also just in general in conservative politics. And he really emerged as one of the go-to conservative senators and, you know, and also very influential with President Trump. He had a very close relationship with the president. Do you think he really was influential with President Trump? Yeah, I think Senator Graham had a great influence on the president. And you could see that in the way that president has been aggressive, been hawkish at times, in spite of the fact that there is another prominent wing in the party of very isolationist or anti-war people.

5:50And that's healthy. I mean, that's kind of the debate that we want to have in the party. There are critics of him. You know, he was a big supporter of the Iraq and Afghanistan adventures. And that probably is something that he's not very popular on that note with that wing of the party. No, and indeed, and some of the language he used about Israel, for example, was striking, even in the context of traditional Republican support for Israel. I mean, he said this was early on in the war following the massacres of October the 7th, 2023. He said, you know, when we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by using nuclear weapons.

6:38That was the right decision. He then said, give Israel the bombs they need to end the war. They can't afford to lose. I mean, it was a pretty striking historical analogy. Definitely hawkish for sure. And I think he definitely will be remembered as being in the sort of neocon hawkish wing of the party. But I think that was in the context of the 500, I think the 500 ton bombs that President Biden was not sending to Israel. And I think there was a legitimate argument there that, you know, that using a bigger weapon actually ends conflicts sooner. And, you know, probably more Israeli soldiers died because they didn't have those, those weapons.

7:17And I think, you know, but again, you know, not trying to make that argument today, but I think Lindsey Graham was always on the side of using military action for the right reasons. Yeah. Again, you pay tribute to what you said was his influential voice with Donald Trump. You will be aware it was a very, very bumpy relationship he had with him. I mean, you know, there's some of the language that they used of each other. I mean, in the run up to 2016, Lindsey Graham calling Trump the world's biggest jackass and race baiting xenophobic religious bigot and you know trump calling Graham a disgrace dumb it wasn't just that they sort of got together after 2016 and and that was it I mean again they sort of they went back and forth over the years didn't no it's a good point I mean obviously the president had lots of critics back in 15 and 16 and most of whom kissed and made up I mean Marco Rubio is probably the best example of that um they've had their differences but they always seem to make up and and you know after the Capitol riot in January of 21.

8:23And then even when the president more recently pulled back on the conflict in Iran and, you know, went to the negotiating table. And I think, you know, the Senator Graham was an early critic of that and sort of publicly disagreed with the president and said, finish the job. Tell me about the Senate now, because as we speak before Senator Graham died. I mean, it was a 53-47 split, so pretty close. Mitch McConnell, the long-saving Republican from Kentucky, has been hospitalized since last month. Are you concerned at all about the Republican hold on the Senate? No, because Lindsey Graham is from South Carolina, a very red state, a really safe seat for Republicans.

9:08And that wasn't even in a conversation about the Senate because it's, you know, it's a really safe seat, whether it's, you know, Senator Graham or his replacement. And so I think that's, I don't think this changes. And I think I could argue the same for Kentucky, maybe not quite as reliable as South Carolina. They do have a Democrat governor in Kentucky, but for the most part, it's pretty secure. And that was Greg Swenson, Chairman of Republicans, overseas UK. Well, in a move which presumably Lindsay Graham would have supported the US has launched a fresh wave of strikes in response to Iranian forces hitting a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

9:47That in turn has left Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declaring the waterway closed until further noticed. They've also mounted their own attacks on US bases and allies in the region, including Oman. And Iran's influential parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammed Bagheer Galibaf said that the era of what he called one-sided deals with the US is over. Well, joining us now is the Omani international relations analyst, Professor Abdullah Barboud, who joins me from the Omani capital, Muscat. Professor Barboud, thank you for your time here on NewsHour. I mean, what do you make of this, particularly the Iranian attack towards Oman, the summoning of the Iranian ambassador in Oman?

10:33Oman has often sort of tried to portray itself as a bit of a sort of mediator in all this. How significant do you think this is? Thank you very much, first of all. And I think this is very significant because we are now yet again at a crossroads where things could escalate or de-escalate. It depends how one looks at them. And this is another unwelcome development because both sides here, I mean Iran and the United States, are interpreting the MOU in a different way. And Iran wants to use the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic asset, and the United States wants to withdraw that from it. And Iran is punishing the Gulf states when it gets attacked by the United States.

11:37Punishing, sorry, the Gulf states when, you know, Iran, when the U.S. attacks it. Can I ask you about that, Professor Babu? Because you raise the memorandum of understanding, point five of which, which seems to be one of the key points, which is that Iran will, to use the words, make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels through the strait. Now, clearly, it has objected to the Americans encouraging some of these ships to go close to the Ammani coast, the southern route. Who's right in this? I mean, has Iran got a cause for its grievance? I don't think so.

12:28So Iran obviously trying to make a cause, pretending and saying that the close five gives it power, at least for the 60 days. And it wants to control who goes in and out. Obviously, this is coming out of lack of trust with the United States. They still think they are going to be attacked because the United States, you know, did that several times during negotiations. So they have this sense of feeling that they're going to be betrayed again, and therefore they are overprotecting themselves. But at the same time, they're interpreting the clause in the way that they understand it. Who's right and who's wrong?

13:20I think this is all going to depend on, you know, legal interpretation. But I think what we need now and what the United States need now is to move beyond this escalation because it's not going to help anyone. And both sides need to, you know, throw to each other something in terms of confidence building measure to help the region to stabilize and all of the international economy and security. Professor Abdullah Baboud, thank you very much for joining us. now coming up on this edition of news hour the last woman to be hanged in the uk ruth ellis has been granted a posthumous conditional pardon when she was hanged in 1955 she was mother to two young children and we'll hear from her granddaughter you can't even begin to imagine what those two children must have gone through and the impact it had on their mental health and you know ultimately my uncle committed suicide and my mother led a life of chaos she died at the age of 50 and the The ripple effect is still being felt today.

14:24It's been two generations. You know, we are still feeling the impact of the shame and embarrassment that ultimately we all grew up with. That interview coming up in 30 minutes. And just one headline to remind you of Iran's chief negotiator with the United States is Ward Washington. There'll be no one-sided deals after the two sides again traded strikes in the Middle East.

14:52This is NewsHour. It's live from the BBC in London. I'm Tim Frax. In Canada, citizens of its province of Alberta will vote on their independence in October. The choice remaining a part of Canada or whether to press ahead to try to become an independent state. Both the Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Conservative opposition are campaigning against separation. but those wishing to leave say successive governments have ridden roughshod over the western province. Talking of which, the BBC's Nadine Youssef has travelled to the Canadian West to Alberta's famous radio festival, the Calgary Stampede.

15:40The place is absolutely packed with people wearing cowboy hats, cowboy boots, eating fried food. When you walk around here you would think that you are at a rodeo in Texas, but all the attendees that we spoke to and the participants tell you that this is a uniquely Western Canadian event.

16:06It's a celebration of Alberta's history and culture, and of course at an event where Alberta identity is front and centre, There's been a lot of conversations about the upcoming referendum in October where Albertans will have the chance to decide whether they want to stay in Canada or explore the process of separating and becoming an independent country. I think that the stampede is an example of the culture here in Alberta. Teresa Hill, a born and raised Albertan who has lived in Calgary all her life, she believes the values on display here show why Alberta should go it alone. People believe in getting down and dirty and working hard.

16:48And our goal in independence is hopefully to bring that type of value system back into Alberta. The majority of people we spoke to at the Stampede didn't share this view and supported a united Canada. MPs from Canadian federal parties are using the Stampede to make their case. With a campaign pancake, cookout breakfast. We've talked directly about Alberta separatism today, a poison, I think, that can divide families. This is Corey Hogan. He's just one of three Liberal MPs in Alberta, historically the conservative heartland of Canada. You look at the polls and you'll see 70-30 support for staying in Canada, 80-20 support for staying in Canada.

17:31But I think we're all very worried that Alberta's politics could be consumed by this forever. If it's a little close and it looks like maybe there's a trend towards separatism. However, those campaigning for separatism claim that Alberta has long been treated unfairly. They point the finger at the successive liberal governments of Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney. We've driven north of Calgary through two hours of Alberta's vast and sunny prairie to meet one of the campaigners for independence. Oh, look at all the Alberta flags. It's one, two, three, four, five, six, nine Alberta flags outside this truck stop.

18:10There you are, sir. Thank you, Chris. For Whistle Stop owner Christopher Scott, the true break with Ottawa occurred during COVID-19. I was raised believing that Canada was a free country. And that kind of came to a head when I had the police and health services here threatening me because I just wanted to exist and work and earn a living. Chris was arrested in 2021 for protesting COVID lockdowns outside his restaurant and was later accused of breaching health restrictions, charges which were eventually thrown out. Independence in Alberta is necessary and inevitable. You can't go that long with people underrepresented before something breaks.

18:50Separatists spent the last few months gathering signatures for a petition that asked to make the referendum binding. Their effort was successfully quashed in court by Alberta First Nations, who argued they were not properly consulted on the matter.

19:07At a neighborhood barbecue in Calgary hosted by nearby First Nations to celebrate Stampede, the mood is firmly against separation. First Nations land in Alberta is governed by treaties signed between Indigenous people and the British Crown nearly 150 years ago. We have to fight it. We have to. And so we did. Speaking to me a few feet away from where one such treaty was signed, Chief Samuel Crowfoot of Siksika Nation tells me there is no clarity on what would happen to those treaties if Alberta were to separate. There is no guarantee, there is no talk from the separatists, no reach out from any of the movements here to talk with any First Nation, as far as I'm aware, about what this new area of Alberta would look like if we were to separate from Canada.

19:49As the Calgary Stampede winds down and the fairground goes quiet, it is clear that this is only the starting gun of what will be a long debate for Alberta's future ahead of October. And that was Nadine Youssef reporting from Alberta. Most of the sporting world's attention has been focused on the exhausting business, emotionally exhausting for the fans, physically taxing, I'm sure, for the players of the latter stages of the Football World Cup. We now know who will be the semi-finalists. But we've got a big sporting final to look forward to today, and that's the men's singles at Wimbledon. 24-year-old Italian Yannick Sinner will be trying to retain his title against the 29-year-old German Alexander Zverev.

20:30I'm joined now by the tennis journalist writer Bastien Fachin who joins us from Paris. Bastien tell me how much you're looking forward to this because I mean these are two players who are very much in their prime aren't they? Yeah it's definitely the final that we were all expecting number one against number two Wimbledon defending champion against most recent Grand Slam champion two players who have run into each other at nearly every Masters this year not at Grand Slam level yet, but every Masters. But I think their history will show once again this afternoon. Sinner won the last nine matches against Zwerf, dating back to the summer of 2024.

21:10Every match he's played against him this year has been a pretty comfortable win, and I don't believe this afternoon will be any different. You could, of course, argue that Zwerf is a different player since winning Rangaros last month, that he's playing more free, that he's going after his shots more. But I think at the end of the day, Sinner is the better tennis player. that's where he's number one he's the better master of grass court he's the more experienced and successful player of the two so yeah I have seen her winning pretty comfortably Okay and will it, I mean is your best guess that it will be an attractive match because they both, I mean obviously at this level they all hit the ball quite hard but I mean they really are, they've got thunderous serves and sometimes that can mean that the sort of you know those gorgeous taxing, beautiful enthralling rallies they don't quite happen.

22:00What's your best guess? Yeah, I think this final will be defined by the serve and by the ball striking from the baseline. I think Sinner played exceptionally well against Djokovic in the semifinals. I was really impressed. Perhaps his greatest win at Grand Slam level since last year's final against Akras. Yeah, not many people dismantle Novak Djokovic, but it felt that way, didn't it? Yeah, so he's coming into this final with plenty of confidence in his game, with the happy memories of his title last year on this court, and with a point to prove after failing to win any of the last three slams, especially after the disaster that was Ron Garos.

22:42But as the saying goes at Wimbledon, if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same, and I think Senor is exemplifying this quote. He did so last year, and I think he's going to do it again this year. And what sort of reception do you think Zverez is going to get? Because, I mean, he has been vilified in the past. I mean, he has these two allegations of domestic abuse against two former partners, you know, allegations which he has always denied. He's had outbursts of on-court anger. I mean, in that sense, what sort of opponent do you think he will be for Sinner?

23:22Just briefly, if you would. Yeah, it's definitely a complicated matter. I don't think the allegations have reached the mainstream yet. So I don't think it will be a factor in terms of crowd reception. But yeah, he's definitely, I think Sinner is going to have most of the support today. And I don't think it will be a big factor. You know, there's no... Okay, Bastien, thank you very much. When you hear the phrase made in China, what do you think? I'm Tristan Redman. And I'm Asma Khalid. And together we host the Global Story podcast from the BBC. And today on our show, we look at the origins and evolution of made in China, because it actually wasn't inevitable.

24:10What we're talking about is the world's largest communist nation is at the beating heart of the capitalist system. For more, listen to The Global Story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

24:47From the BBC World Service. Listen now or search for Good Bad Billionaire wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

24:57How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250-year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 2.50. Listen to the global story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

25:32Welcome back to News Hour. Now, we're going to turn to an achievement known to have been completed by only one person. 44-year-old Rob Lee has become the first person to finish what's known as the Double Seven, a challenge which comprises climbing the seven highest peaks on all the continents, and seven swims, an open water challenge that requires unassisted solo crossings of seven ocean channels. Rob recently completed his last swim in Japan. He's back home in the US state of Utah from where he spoke to Celia Hatton on the BBC World Service's weekend programme. When I summited Aconcagua in 2009, I really never had dreamt that I could accomplish not only the summits, but also the Ocean 7.

26:14The Ocean 7 was not really even a thing at that time. But after I did Aconogawa, I really got interested in high altitude mountaineering. And after 2019, after swimming the English Channel, I learned about the Ocean 7 and came up with this idea of the Devil 7 Challenge. It's been absolutely wonderful to have a goal that pushed not only my mind and my body, but also took me all around the world to visit all kinds of very fun and interesting places. I mean, you say fun, but this challenge sounds really grueling. What was the most difficult part? Was it harder to climb the summits or to do the seven oceans?

26:51Yeah, I think each one of the challenges, the summits and the oceans had their own challenge. But I found the swims to be probably more difficult than some of the climbs. The most difficult challenge I probably had was the Molokai swim, which is my second to last swim. That's a swim between Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii, and it's 30 miles of open ocean. We were worried about great white sharks. We were worried about cookie cutter sharks, which are these really weird prehistoric sharks that come up from the deepest parts of the ocean. And they take literally a cookie sized bite out of swimmers, out of tuna, out of other sea creatures.