--- title: Watch Lindsey Graham's Emotional Farewell to John McCain description: Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Sen. John McCain's closest friends, gave him an emotional sendoff on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/5380779/he-failed-a-lot-but-he-never-quit-watch-lindsey-grahams-emotional-farewell-to-john-mccain/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-28T19:40:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:57:35.160Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'He Failed a Lot, But He Never Quit.' Watch Lindsey Graham's Emotional Farewell to John McCain og:description: "John taught us how to lose." og:url: https://time.com/5380779/he-failed-a-lot-but-he-never-quit-watch-lindsey-grahams-emotional-farewell-to-john-mccain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c2a6d2812d43e19/698938d87cdbac0e52d5dc7e/lindsey-graham-john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Senators McCain, Graham, Cassidy and Johnson Discuss Health Care Reform og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'He Failed a Lot, But He Never Quit.' Watch Lindsey Graham's Emotional Farewell to John McCain twitter:description: "John taught us how to lose." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c2a6d2812d43e19/698938d87cdbac0e52d5dc7e/lindsey-graham-john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'He Failed a Lot, But He Never Quit.' Watch Lindsey Graham's Emotional Farewell to John McCain > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Aug 28, 2018 7:40 PM UTC  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (R) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) hold a news conference to say they would not support a 'Skinny Repeal' of health care at the U.S. Capitol July 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (R) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) hold a news conference to say they would not support a 'Skinny Repeal' of health care at the U.S. Capitol July 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Aug 28, 2018 7:40 PM UTC Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Sen. John McCain’s closest friends, gave him an emotional sendoff on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday. Fighting back tears, the South Carolina Republican spoke about his personal experiences with McCain touring the [Hanoi Hilton](http://time.com/5377698/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-vietnam/) where he was held by the North Vietnamese and campaigning unsuccessfully for president in 2008. “John taught us how to lose,” he said. “When you go throughout the world. People remember his concession speech as much as anything else. There are so many countries where you can’t afford to lose because they’ll kill you. And John said that night, ‘President Obama is now my president.’ So he healed the nation at a time he was hurt.”  In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington,, next to the desk of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., draped in black with a bowl of white roses sitting on it on Aug. 28, 2018. Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock Along with former Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, Graham and McCain were often referred to as the [“three amigos”](https://www.yahoo.com/gma/inside-john-mccains-three-amigos-friendship-015517089--abc-news-topstories.html) because of their close relationship. Graham, who [also ran unsuccessfully for president](https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/lindsey-graham-suspends-presidential-campaign-217028) in 2016, said that McCain taught him that he was stronger because of his failure. “To those who are striving as a young person, remember John McCain,” he said. “He failed a lot, but he never quit.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5380779/he-failed-a-lot-but-he-never-quit-watch-lindsey-grahams-emotional-farewell-to-john-mccain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5380779/he-failed-a-lot-but-he-never-quit-watch-lindsey-grahams-emotional-farewell-to-john-mccain/"},"headline":"'He Failed a Lot, But He Never Quit.' Watch Lindsey Graham's Emotional Farewell to John McCain","datePublished":"2018-08-28T19:40:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:57:35.160Z","description":"Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Sen. 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