# A letter to the late Lindsey Graham

> Mona Charen criticizes Lindsey Graham for supporting Trump's anti-Russia deal that undermines Ukraine.
- Title: A letter to the late Lindsey Graham · Chicago Sun-Times
- Summary: Mona Charen criticizes Lindsey Graham for supporting Trump's anti-Russia deal that undermines Ukraine. Mona Charen argues Lindsey Graham's support for…
- Keywords: lindsey graham, trump, russia, iran, ukraine, diesel deal, senate, mona charen, news, local, letter, late
- Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/10/16/lindsey-graham-trump-russia-iran-ukraine-mona-charen
- Published: 2026-10-16T11:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: lindsey graham, trump, russia, iran, ukraine, diesel deal, senate, mona charen, news, local
## Lindsey Graham's final stance
Mona Charen writes that Graham believed truckling to Trump would do more good than opposing him.

> You erroneously believed that by truckling to trump you could do more good than you could have by opposing him
## Graham's last words
Graham joked he could still do russia sanctions, iran issues, and israeli-saudi normalization before dying.

> I can’t die now. I still need to do the russia sanctions, get iran sorted out and do israeli saudi normalization
## Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act
The 2026 law named after graham gives president authority to impose tariffs on russian oil and gas imports.

> The lindsey o. graham sanctioning russia and iran act of 2026 gave the president new authority to impose tariffs on countries importing russian oil and gas
## Trump's diesel deal with russia
Trump signed a deal to buy 2.2 million barrels of russian diesel, equivalent to u.s. consumption in one day.

> The 2.2 million barrels of diesel he proposes to buy from russia amount to what the u.s. consumes in less than a day
## Trump's betrayal of ukraine
Trump halted u.s. arms deliveries to ukraine after mocking zelensky's leadership in february 2025.

> Trump said zelensky was going to lose the war to russia because he didn’t have the cards
## Graham's support for trump
Graham praised trump and jd vance for standing up for the country despite ukraine crisis.

> Somebody asked me if i was embarrassed about president trump. i have never been more proud of the president
## Ukraine war consequences
Ukraine's resilience against russia led to sweden and finland joining nato, but trump halted arms deliveries.

> Ukraine has proved a marvel of improvisation and scrappy resilience
## Trump's meeting with putin
Trump met putin in alaska in august 2025, arranging a military flyover and applauding him.

> Trump announced that he was meeting with putin in alaska
## Moral consequences
Trump's deal empowers russia, iran, and china while undermining u.s. moral authority.

> Every dollar we spend on russian diesel can be spent on missiles and drones aimed not only at kyiv and kherson
## Graham's legacy
Charen argues graham embodied moral cowardice by supporting trump's policies.

> You came to embody the moral cowardice and self-delusion of an entire political party
## Graham's final assessment
Charen calls graham's support for trump the worst possible bargain for america's values.

> If you ever really cared about america’s values or even its basic welfare, you made the worst possible bargain
## Key takeaway

Mona Charen argues Lindsey Graham's support for Trump's Russia diesel deal contradicts his earlier advocacy for Ukraine and international norms.