Lindsey Graham Shifts to Embrace Trump as Midterms Approach
• Lindsey Graham has made a major political shift from criticizing Trump to aligning himself with the former president and the MAGA wing of the GOP
• Graham stunned colleagues by voting against the defense supplemental bill to aid Ukraine and Israel, citing lack of border funding
• Graham skipped the Munich Security Conference and called for making Ukraine aid conditional on repayment, per Trump's suggestion
• The behavior shows Graham's evolution from a moderate, bipartisan dealmaker to trying to appeal to Trump's base to maintain influence
• Some Republicans are perplexed by Graham's shifts, but others see it as recognizing the direction the GOP is headed under Trump's influence