Transcript: Senator Tim Scott on Turn Back the Nation with Margaret Brennan July 12, 2026

The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 12, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott. Senator, good morning and we are sorry for your loss. When Americans wake up this morning, I wonder how you want them to remember Senator Graham, someone who served this country in uniform as well as in the Capitol for so many decades.

SENATOR TIM SCOTT: Margaret, thank you for your condolences. And America has certainly lost a statesman. I lost a friend. To remember Lindsey Graham, Margaret, is to honestly remember his very humble beginnings. I’m not sure everyone connects the dots of who he is and why he is. His mother dies of cancer 15 months later. His dad dies of a massive heart attack. He adopted his 13-year-old sister when he was just 19 years old and a student at the University of South Carolina. And this unusually difficult and harsh beginning shaped his worldview. And as a public servant, Margaret, one thing that we often don’t think about with Lindsay is that he wanted to make sure that you needed help and he could help, he was there. He wanted to make sure those who sometimes felt invisible were seen, and he did an incredible job in South Carolina providing the kind of public service you’d want to see from an elected official. He also understood that he was working for the people of South Carolina, not just a leader of South Carolina. Of course, there is undeniably the foreign policy portfolio that was synonymous with who we knew him to be in public service, but as a South Carolinian, as a friend, I have to tell you that he was just a witty guy. He was always funny. I’ll tell you a short story, Margaret. When I first started my South Carolina Prayer Breakfast in DC for those of us who came from South Carolina, I called Lindsey on the phone and I knew he was not a morning person and the prayer breakfast starts at 8:30 in the morning. And I said, “Lindsey, are you coming?” He says, “I will not come even if Jesus comes before 10 in the morning.” It made me — I just laughed out loud. And of course, at 8:31, who walks in the door? Lindsay Graham. He was always committed to the priorities that he considered important not only to him but also to me. And it’s one of those times where you just know who he is as a person and then as a public servant, we certainly know him as a fierce fighter for foreign policy as a…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: A man who wore a uniform for 30 years, a colonel in our army, he loved America passionately. He has served us brilliantly…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: –and he will undoubtedly be missed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, I want to – you know, Senator Graham’s staff said he had a sudden and brief illness. You – do you know what happened? Because it shocked us, frankly, overnight.

SEN. SCOTT: Yeah, I don’t know the details beyond what his staff has released. I felt like it was a heart attack, but I… I hate just…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: — will give my opinion on what I’ve heard from people close to me, but I think we’ll have more information in the next couple of days. But it’s…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: – Looks like it was a heart attack.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, you mentioned the senator’s sense of humor. He would come to this program

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –and he’s going to use that platform. He was very clear. He came on television because he often had a message for the President of the United States himself that he wanted Mr. Trump to hear. He was constantly flying around the world. I wonder how the Republican leadership plans to honor his legacy.

SEN. SCOTT: Well, you know, one of the things that I think we should do, obviously, is the Southside Prayer Breakfast for me later this month. I’m going to rename it after Lindsey Graham, and now we’re going to have the Lindsey Graham Prayer Breakfast while I’m in public service. First, second, as the Senate leadership comes together, I spoke with John Thune at about 4:30 this morning, and he, he and I, John Barroso and others will find an appropriate way to honor him throughout the week and, frankly, through the end of this term. I will say that one of the ways we can best honor Lindsey Graham is to understand the importance he placed on America, on American security abroad.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: If you want to know who he was, he was a man who believed that when you leave this country, you should be safe wherever you go and whatever the cost. And that’s why, as a guy who became the budget chairman, Margaret, one of the funniest stories I remember sitting there with Lindsey Graham. He said, “I’m the budget chairman now and I don’t know anything about money. I don’t know anything about numbers, but I’m going to do the job anyway.” And as you can tell, we have this budget tool called the beast, made once…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know…

SEN. SCOTT: –twice because Lindsey Graham–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –I spoke to the senator–

SEN. SCOTT: –he knew people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. I spoke with Senator Graham several times on Friday when he was in Kiev, we talked on the phone, and I know…

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –he was so happy that the White House would finally support this bill that he had been working on with Senator Blumenthal to get tough on Russia and its biggest…

SEN. SCOTT: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –oil buyers. He said he had 85 signatories. He said it would… it would pass. Are you going to honor him by organizing this vote, or is there an obligation to do so?

SEN. SCOTT: Well, Margaret, it’s too early for me to talk about politics and the legislation that Lindsey Graham sponsored. We will deal with it tomorrow. Today I will be busy with his legacy and I will be praying for his sister and the rest of the country that has lost a powerful leader. Today we have many ways to honor Lindsey Graham.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: The best way for me to honor him is to talk about his legacy as a person and as a public servant. No doubt foreign policy will be one way to honor him. I won’t go into specifics because frankly, it would take the entire guide to make decisions along the way.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, I just – the excitement in his voice in that case caught my eye.

SEN. SCOTT: Oh, he… Margaret, you know him as well as anyone in this public forum because he was so dedicated to public service…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: –and I know your family was just as committed to public service as he was to wearing the uniform. And one of the ways that we will show our commitment to Lindsey, I hope, is to focus on the priorities that he set for this nation from a global perspective, and hopefully the White House, the Senate, frankly, the Republicans and the Democrats will come together and do what we need to do for the American people, and that will be the best way to honor his legacy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, I know it’s too early to start talking about who might even try to fill his seat for the rest of his term, but I know that Lindsey Graham’s role has been key to the party connecting with a president who, frankly, Republicans have had some tension with at times. He would be there. Remember him saying, “Oh, Margaret, I spent four and a half hours with the President on the golf course yesterday, and this is what we’re going to do.” Who can step up and help create connective tissue between the White House and lawmakers now?

SEN. SCOTT: Well, I don’t know anyone who could take Lindsey Graham’s place. The only thing I can say that you just highlighted is the important role he played in building bridges in life, just as part of who he was, and so I started with the story of those who felt invisible and in his presence you knew you were seen. And we are waiting for an important conversation. President Trump is committed to the Republican Party and, frankly, to a Republican Senate. There are disagreements, no question. But the good news is that these differences have made us stronger so far. And Lindsey Graham’s phone conversation with the president every day was helpful without question. Play golf for four hours every weekend. How anyone plays golf for four hours I will never know because I have never played for two hours. But the truth is, it’s the bond he’s made on the golf course that’s made him such a powerful advocate for the president and a powerful advocate for us and the president, and that’s why we’re going to need it. But more importantly, we need a champion who does not stand up for politics, but to serve our country. That’s who Lindsay was. He had friends on both sides of the aisle. You see the world…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: –leaders around the world are standing up for Lindsey Graham, and why? Because he put others first. This is a biblical principle –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: –let others shine brighter than you, and he did that very well, even when he passed away–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. SCOTT: –he’s like iron sharpening iron, so one man sharpens another. We are now watching the world respond to Lindsey Graham’s influence, not just here in South Carolina, but around the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Scott, thank you for your recollections this morning.

SEN. SCOTT: Yes, ma’am.