Transcript of Senate Balance Rocked & Robinson's Trans Lover Testifies | 7.13.26

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's tragic passing leaves behind a decades-long legacy in D.C. and a massive seat to fill in a deeply divided Senate.

We need someone who understands both sides and who works to bring us together. And Lindsey Graham did such a good job of building the bridge for the party and frankly, for our nation.

We talked to Tim Scott about the political and personal influence of his fellow senator from South Carolina.

I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, July 13th. This is Morning Wire. And what comes next in the trial of Tyler Robinson after a controversial delay by Judge Graf?

I am glad that the evidence is presented. Uh, anybody with any kind of integrity that want to know the truth, they, they have access to see.

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You've got nothing to apologize for. When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello, because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy.

This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics.

That was Senator Lindsey Graham giving an impassioned defense of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in what proved to be a defining moment in the hearings. The senator unexpectedly passed away Saturday at the age of 71 after what his staff called a brief and sudden illness.

The senator, who was first elected in 2002, was known for his hawkish foreign policy views and as a staunch ally of President Trump. Joining us now to discuss is Ben Domenech, Daily Wire opinion editor and host of The Big Ben Show. Ben, thanks for coming on.

Great to be with you as always, even in this sad occasion.

Indeed. Now, first, you and your wife have known Graham for decades. You've seen firsthand how he operates. Why was he so effective on Capitol Hill.

He was a relentless and active member of the Senate, which you can't say about all of the U.S. senators. He was a political animal, and he cared deeply about it, and he cared deeply about the country. I think sometimes people can view that as being something that's odd, but within the course of, of sort of his career, I think that he had an enormous effect on American politics. One of the things to really understand about Lindsey Graham is that he had a choice to make after the 2016 election, where he had run against Donald Trump, been a vociferous opponent, and said that he was going to lose to Hillary Clinton in terms of his own predictions. Having all of that come back against him, having his predictions blow up in his face, he had a decision to make. And the decision that he made was to work with the president, was to reach out to him, was to try to influence him on foreign policy and the like. Uh, and that's something that ultimately bore fruit because he was able to move the president's foreign policy, I think, in a lot of ways in his own direction when it came to Ukraine in particular.

And that's something that I think is a testament to Lindsey's approach to politics. He was always someone who put the actual nuts and bolts of figuring out strategies ahead of any kind of personal animus or any— anything along those lines. And that's something that made him incredibly effective as a senator.

Now, as Georgia noted at the top, Graham's defense of Brett Kavanaugh has become one of not just the hearing's defining moments, but a defining moment of Graham's career. Uh, why do you think that is?

I think it's because you saw a side of Lindsey that really was only apparent to his fellow senators behind the scenes. He cared deeply about that kind of thing. It's actually one of the things that I think is most consistent about his career. Whenever he feels like someone is being unjustly accused of something, or where, where he feels like they're being railroaded in one way or another. I was around when he was doing that in defense of other judicial nominees in the past, including Miguel Estrada. Uh, even before that, Monica Lewinsky, uh, of all people, shouted him out today as being someone who was the most careful about defending her against the slights of the Clinton administration during the impeachment trial. He just always had this natural sort of tendency to rebel against what he saw as being injustice. And when he saw that when it came to the Kavanaugh case, you saw it in full form, uh, in that hearing and in that moment.

President Trump considered Graham a key ally, as you've said, uh, quickly posted praise for him, calling him a dear friend. He was among the more hawkish voices in the GOP. Does losing him shift the balance on foreign policy meaningfully in the Republican Party?

I think it does shift the balance within the Senate conference. Graham is somebody who was always one of the loudest voices behind the scenes trying to convince people who are more reluctant within his conference to go along. And even if they respected him, they disagreed with him. And the truth is, without Lindsey in the room, there's a real, I think, situation where you're going to have a smaller portion of people who are arguing this way. At the same time, I will say this, the truth is that this, there is more balance within this Republican conference than I think is necessarily reflected within the press. There are loud voices who are of the mind that there should be a real retreat from the use of American power overseas, but there are a lot of people who are quieter about their own views who agree that we ought to have the kind of presence that we have overseas. I think those people still have the majority within that conference, and even in the absence of Lindsey, I think that that still will be an item of opinion that is, that is well voiced. But there is no question, without him there, it's a real shift in terms of the vocal, uh, and, and very ready argument that happens both behind the scenes and in public about the use of American power.

Well, it's been a difficult 24 hours. Ben, thank you so much for joining us.

Great to be with you.

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Joining us now to discuss the tragic passing of Lindsey Graham is his fellow senator from South Carolina, Tim Scott. Senator, thank you so much for joining us in a moment we know is very difficult for you personally.

Yeah, I mean, we lost a statesman for the country without any question, but for me, I lost a personal friend who, uh, attended my wedding. He's been there for me over the last almost 15 years in a personal way that is just powerful. He's watched me fall in love, get married. He's been a part of the journey, and for that I'm forever grateful and thankful.

So why was Lindsey Graham, you know, such an influential force in the Senate?

You know, I think it was his humor and his wit. I mean, there's— I can remember some of the tough times he lots of tension in the room, and Lindsay would just say something that cracks everybody up. I also remember the first time I had a prayer breakfast in, in, uh, DC. I do a South Carolina prayer breakfast and it starts around 8:30 in the morning. I called Lindsay and said, Lindsay, uh, I would love for you to come to my first, uh, prayer breakfast. He says, if Jesus comes before 10 AM, I'm not going, so you know I'm not coming to your prayer breakfast. And, uh, of course at 8:31, who walks through the door Lindsey Graham.

And in your perspective, what were some of his biggest accomplishments during his time in the Senate?

Yeah, for me, I think the biggest accomplishments as a senator has to be the Kavanaugh hearing, the process of confirming the Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh. Most of us who follow politics will remember that speech he gave. We can remember the— I mean, this is the power, the passion, the clarity, and frankly, the honesty that was delivered at the right time. Esther 4:14 reminds us, for such a time as this. Lindsey Graham was there when we needed him the most.

He seems like he's really influenced President Trump. President Trump immediately expressing his appreciation for him after news of his passing. How have you seen that relationship develop over the last few years between Graham and Trump?

Well, if you think about it, 10 years ago, I'm not sure we would ever have thought we would arrive at the place where we are today. No, these two men our bosom buddies, uh, close as two peas in a pod. Talking to President Trump today about, uh, about Lindsey Graham, you could tell the president was sincere in his affection for Lindsey, hurting for the loss of Lindsey, but laughing about the impact of Lindsey. And I think that really underscores the important foundation of, of shared values, shared belief. Lindsey understood once he lost that race for president 10 years ago the number one thing he would do is support the guy who won. And frankly, he never stopped supporting President Trump, even in the interim. That built a strong foundation. Frankly, playing golf every other weekend with the president for 4.5 hours a weekend made him understand President Trump maybe better than any other senator in the United States Senate. That has served our country. So incredibly well to have a senator who understands the leader of the free world and leverages that relationship on behalf of the American people. And, and frankly, besides golf, never on behalf of himself.

Like you said, a major void to fill. What is the process going forward for filling his seat? How difficult will that be to do so?

Uh, you can never replace a Lindsey Graham, but you can find someone else to serve instead. The process has already begun. I guarantee you both the president and the governor have received dozens of calls of recommendations of who they want to serve in his place. For us in South Carolina, my hope is that the voters on August 11th, as I understand it today, will have a chance to weigh in through a primary process. If there are a number of candidates None of those candidates receiving more than 50% or more, there will be a runoff 2 weeks later. So August 11th will be a primary, number 1. Number 2, the governor will appoint someone either to be a placeholder until the end of the year or perhaps serve out. I hope he puts in, in position a placeholder. Someone like a Trey Gowdy would be great to hold that seat until we actually have someone elected by the people to take over for their 6-year term.

Well, professionally and for you personally, a major loss. But we so much appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today in this particular moment.

Thank you very much. God bless you.

The man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk is one step closer to standing trial after a dramatic 5-day preliminary hearing in Utah. However, some critics say the judge is unnecessarily prolonging the proceedings.

Joining us now is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, before we talk about where the case goes from here and this decision to delay, which isn't really unusual but it has frustrated a lot of people, can you just walk us through some of the key moments from last week?

Yeah, Georgia, and I think what's important to remember here is that this hearing was not to decide Tyler Robinson's guilt or innocence. It was just to decide whether or not there's enough evidence for this case to move to trial. So prosecutors laid out for Judge Tony Graff what they argue is a comprehensive case built on surveillance footage, DNA evidence, digital communications, and then also some witness testimony. So some of the key pieces of evidence here— there was surveillance video that prosecutors say placed Robinson on Utah Valley University campus on 4 separate occasions, and that was both before and after and at the time of the murder. So that included footage that shows someone who is allegedly Robinson getting into sniper position on the rooftop from which Charlie Kirk was shot. And prosecutors also presented forensic testimony that DNA recovered from the alleged murder weapon also matched Robinson. So Donald Trump Jr. was a good friend of Charlie Kirk's, and he attended the hearing last week, and he told Fox News that based on what he heard, he thinks that the evidence for Robinson's guilt is overwhelming.

Based on everything that I saw in that courtroom, uh, it's very clear to me that Tyler Robinson did this. I mean, You have a kid that, you know, drove 4.5 hours away from where he lived to visit a university campus that he did not go to. He visited the campus 4 times. You can see that very clearly on the video. They showed us literal pictures of indentations where, you know, someone would be lying down prone to shoot a rifle. You have a screwdriver that likely could have been used to take apart the gun because it had the DNA of the shooter and, you know, and his boyfriend on it.

Now, what about the testimony from Robinson's roommate slash romantic partner, Lance Twigs?

I would say that that particular testimony was among the most emotionally charged moments of this hearing. So prosecutors introduced text messages and statements that Robinson allegedly made to Twigs after the shooting that prosecutors argue are basically tantamount to admissions of guilt. One note allegedly from Robinson to Twigs said, quote, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I took it." And then in follow-up texts, Robinson admitted, "I'm sorry." He mentions ditching his grandfather's rifle in the bushes near campus. And then in a recorded April interview played in court, Twigs described Robinson pacing that day, crying, saying that he wished he hadn't done it. So former police officer and political commentator Brandon Tatum also attended the hearing last week, and he said that that was one of the most difficult parts to witness.

It was emotional to see Erica have to watch that and to have the person who killed her husband in the courtroom.

Twiggs also testified that Robinson indicated that he intended to surrender. So again, just, you know, more statements that the prosecution alleges are consciousness of guilt. Now, the defense on the other side says that they are challenging both the context and the admissibility of some of those statements, and they've argued that the roommate received immunity in exchange for cooperating with investigators.

Now, there has been some controversy over Judge Graf's decision to adjourn the hearing until September. Why did he justify that delay?

Yeah, Georgia, I mean, there, there certainly has been some expressions of disappointment coming from Charlie's family and friends. Erica Kirk has said that she hoped for an immediate ruling after 5 days of testimony, and she and the family released a statement urging the court not to prolong this process any longer than necessary. And also, they're urging the court to maintain transparency. And I think, you know, given the fairly vile cottage industry of conspiracy theories that have grown up around this assassination, you can't really blame them for that. But the defense has requested additional time to submit additional briefs, so Judge Graff ruled that they will have that time, and they will make their final oral arguments on the 1st of September.

Well, many of us, most importantly Charlie's family, are eager to see justice in this case. Megan, thanks for reporting.

Yeah, my pleasure.

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