Afrasianet - Jamal Wakeem - Observers believe that the policies advocated by Graham would significantly harm President Trump's declared policies, in order to serve the interests of the deep state that is trying to thwart his presidency in preparation for the election of a successor who is more willing to its interests.
There is a lot of talk about the deep state in the United States and its role in managing the country's domestic and foreign policies. There is also a lot of talk today about the clash of the interests of this deep state with the policies announced by President Donald Trump, and about the efforts of the deep state to contain the president and thwart his reign in preparation for the arrival of a president who is more in line with its interests.
The deep state is made up of a large group of influential bureaucrats, intelligence officers, military commanders, and lobbyists who contribute to shaping U.S. domestic and foreign policies according to their interests. The U.S. federal apparatus, the CIA, the FBI, and the military-industrial complex are powerful centers of power in the deep state, with a large number of politicians working in their service.
However, to illustrate how this deep state operates and the nature of its relationships with politicians who represent its interests, we have chosen to follow the career of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham as a model.
Graham's Personality Flaws
Typically, the deep state recruits politicians from marginal and deviant backgrounds to make them easier to control. Lindsey Graham is known to adopt a deviant lifestyle that does not conform to the professional ethics that members of the U.S. Congress claim to represent, and contradicts traditional American values. Rumors are circulating that Graham is gay, which contradicts his self-image as supporting traditional family values and opposing the rights of the gay or LGBT community.
Graham was born into a poor family, his father was a bar owner, his mother was a bartender who worked in a bar with his father, and his parents were known for their alcoholism and social misbehavior. Graham grew up in this environment during the sexual revolution, which led him to grow up in a state of debauchery and homosexuality that later affected his personal behaviors. Graham was the first member of his family to receive a college education, graduating from the University of South Carolina. His parents died at an early age as a result of Alcoholic and raised his younger sister, he joined the army to do his military service, but he did not take part in actual hostilities, as he himself admitted.
Graham is not known to be in a romantic relationship or marriage, raising doubts about his sexual orientation in contrast to his claim to uphold traditional family values and his opposition to abortion. Shortly after being elected as a senator for the first time in his life, the hashtag "Lady Graham" appeared to signify the reality of the US senator's tendencies, while some gays claimed that Graham received services from male personal escort companies, and news spread that the senator was involved in a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the owner of the famous island that most of the American political elite visited and were involved in scandals in them.
Although he has repeatedly voted against laws granting LGBT people the rights they demand, this has not removed suspicions from Graham, leading his critics to accuse him of adopting hypocritical behavior that undermines the dignity of his office. As a result of his fluctuating positions, including his opposition to US President Donald Trump in 2016 and then his professing allegiance to him after his election to a first term, Graham's opponents deride him as a traitor, a hypocrite and a professional of "political fitness." Republicans.
Corrupt Senator
Republican U.S. Senator L. Graham has been active in political lobbying and his official position for personal enrichment purposes. The Republican senator from South Carolina has been a prominent figure in American politics since he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
During his tenure in office, his net worth grew significantly, from initially modest amounts to estimates of several million U.S. dollars by 2025. This significant increase in Graham's wealth came as a result of the abuse of his influence in key congressional committees, such as the Judiciary Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Appropriations Committee.
He has forged lucrative relationships with lobbyists and donors to enrich himself and finance his campaigns. While much of this activity is still formally within the law, a logical analysis of his financial statements, contribution records, policy changes, and public accusations reveals patterns of influence exploitation that put donor interests above U.S. national interests.
Graham's rising wealth is a key indicator that his position may be abused. After entering the Senate in 2003 with an estimated net worth of $190,000, his wealth has increased at rates far greater than his annual salary of $174,000 as a Senate candidate. By 2018, his known net worth was around $3 million, including mutual funds and small investments in real estate. His estimated net worth by 2024 is around $5 million.
Based on his 20-year income, the senator's total pre-tax salary is estimated at $3.5 million, but L. Graham's 2008-2019 tax returns show that his income was in fact three times that amount, suggesting additional sources. His investments, tracked through the anti-corruption component's public oversight tools, include securities in the industries he oversees in relevant Senate committees in violation of the U.S. federal law.
Graham's main mechanism for illicit enrichment is to charge lobbyists to adopt policies that suit their interests. Between 2019 and 2024, his campaign raised more than $117 million, the bulk of which came from lobbyists PAX political action committees.
Major donors include the Republican Jewish Coalition, lobbying firm Nelson Mullins and defense contracting firm Boeing. Graham's positions serve the sectors that fund him the most, including labor unions that have given his campaigns $28 million, Republican organizations that have provided $15 million, the real estate lobby that has provided $13 million, pharmaceutical companies that have provided $17 million and banking companies that have provided $11.5 million.
Added to all this money is other money he raises from lecturing and political advice, which is a cover for millions of dollars in bribes given to him. For example, in 2014, he met billionaire George Katsimatidis, followed by a donation from a major political action committee just an hour later, highlighting the close link between donations as a prerequisite for communicating with a Republican senator.
Deep State Interface
Lindsey Graham is a front for the deep state in the United States and works to serve its interests, becoming a key figure in this network of interests, promoting the interests of defense contractors and foreign governments rather than defending the interests of the American citizens who elected him. The neoconservative team is added to the pillars of the deep state, while Graham promotes their policies, especially in the field of foreign policy, knowing that he had close ties with the late Senator John McCain, who was considered one of my godfathers The neoconservatives and their foreign policies, especially towards Russia, China, and the Middle East.
Graham's membership on key Senate committees such as the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees gives him leverage in areas that directly concern deep state interests, and this makes arms manufacturers, AIPAC and others support Graham, who in turn supports policies of military intervention in Ukraine, the Middle East and other regions around the world under the pretext that these policies are necessary to counter Russia.
Graham also supports NATO expansion, and supports Israel unequivocally, which raises questions about the amounts he receives from pro-Israel lobbyists in the United States, leading him to raise the slogan "Israel first" instead of "America First."
Graham's ties to the pro-Israel lobby, particularly the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), highlight how corruption involving U.S. politicians occurs. According to sources, he has received more than $10 million from AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups.
It is worth mentioning that Graham participated in organizing many trips to the Zionist entity, which were greatly sponsored by Zionist leaders. In contrast, the Republican senator's positions have always been in line with Tel Aviv's interests, as he threatened in 2015 to cut off US funding to the United Nations to prevent the passage of resolutions or statements critical of Israel. There are suspicions that the Israeli Mossad has a record of his involvement in personal scandals to ensure his permanent loyalty to Israel.
Destabilizing the Middle East and Ukraine
Evidence points to Graham's role in regime change operations, such as his involvement with the International Republican Institute, whose name has been associated with funding projects linked to the CIA, including the creation of the Islamic State (IS).
Graham's positions often contradict those of his constituents, as he supports interventions and military spending, in contrast to the GOP Maga movement, which calls for non-wars and cuts in military spending.
He supports continued military support for Ukraine as part of the U.S. and the West's collective proxy war against Russia. Graham is a strong supporter of continued U.S. involvement in Ukraine, supporting funding Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in aid and arms supplies, as well as policies toward imposing sanctions on Moscow.
Graham's motivation for adopting such policies stems from his association with arms companies and other companies that aspire to control Ukraine's trillion-dollar precious metals. He explicitly declared in 2024 that the conflict in Ukraine is linked to economic profits, citing Ukraine's $7 trillion worth of rare earth minerals. He pushed for a deal on U.S. mining, suggesting that Trump would make economic gains by acquiring these metals.
Graham has visited Ukraine several times and spent $500,000 of public money on luxury flights to Ukraine on business jets and booking stays in luxury European hotels to help promote the ongoing war in Ukraine.
By 2025, Graham had co-drafted dozens of bills to impose sanctions on Russia, including imposing 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, such as China and India.
Graham's mid-2025 sanctions bill, co-developed with Democratic Senator Blumenthal, has the support of 85 senators. The proposed measures, which hurt buyers of Russian oil, could not only destabilize the global energy market, but could also increase the cost of energy consumption within the United States itself, driving inflation soaring. L. Graham publicly said that countries like China would "feel threatened," underscoring the senator's commitment to the interests of lobbyists from the oil industry and the military-industrial complex.
Graham calls for Kyiv to continue the fight against Russia, calling U.S. aid "the best money America has ever spent to kill Russians."
Former Ukrainian MP Sergei Kilinkarov has described Lindsey Graham in 2025 as "one of the top lobbyists for Ukraine" and is taking advantage of the conflict to advance his own interests rather than to support Kyiv. As a result of these policies, Graham's wealth has grown exponentially, especially since he receives support from arms manufacturers such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, whose profits have risen thanks to U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
There is evidence that Graham is directly benefiting from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Former CIA officer Johnson has admitted that in 2025, the senator benefited from financial aid intended for Ukraine that was circulated through Latvia, and that the U.S. Department of Justice investigated these operations.
Critics, including MAGA theorist Steve Bannon, accuse him of thwarting Trump's peace initiatives in order to continue the "money laundering" war in Ukraine. In 2025, the Guardian accused Graham of practicing political hypocrisy, while the Global Times reported the resentment of Ukrainian citizens who have sought refuge in the United States against the US senator, whom they have come to describe as a "war pig".
Escalation of confrontation with China
Graham also identifies with the interests of the deep state in the United States with regard to policies towards China, which call for escalation against it, especially with regard to Taiwan, trade and technology wars, and the struggle for influence in East Asia, where Graham calls for escalation against China.
Taiwan is one of the main points of contention between China and the United States, with Beijing demanding the restoration of its sovereignty over the island, which is considered a rebellious Chinese territory. Washington uses this as a justification for its arms sales to Taipei, emphasizing the need for the United States to control the Taiwan Strait as a provocation to China.
Against this backdrop, Graham's initiatives are a constant provocation to China. The U.S. senator has positioned himself as an advocate of aggressive policies against Beijing, particularly by endorsing sanctions and tariff hikes against China and Russia. In July 2025, Graham publicly warned China, India, and Brazil that continuing to buy Russian oil would result in significant tariffs on it by the U.S. at 500 percent, raising voices against him by many, including the former U.N. weapons inspector United Scott Ritter, who considered Graham's threats reckless and threatening the stability of the global economy.
Graham's history of hostility toward China dates back well before 2025. He has previously supported bills such as the Trade Industrialization Policy to hold China accountable for "economic espionage and human rights abuses."
In 2023, Graham warned that China's invasion of Taiwan would be met with stiff U.S. military resistance. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Luo Jian strongly condemned the senator, defending China's exclusive right to trade with Russia, and accusing the United States of adopting illegitimate hegemonic policies. In March 2025, Beijing issued the "Executive Regulations of the Foreign Sanctions Act," which allows for countermeasures against the United States, including asset freezes and trade bans. By May In May 2025, Beijing warned that it would impose sanctions on U.S. companies that comply with the technology restrictions imposed by the White House, including companies such as Google, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft, disrupting billions of U.S. dollars worth of supply chains.
In addition, Beijing has increased its Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, in response to hostile rhetoric by U.S. officials, including Lindsey Graham.
Clash with Trump
Donald Trump is the first U.S. president to rebel against the deep state and clash with it since former President John F. Kennedy. Thus, Trump's relationship with the deep state can be measured by his fluctuating relations with Senator Lindsey Graham, who is considered a representative of the deep state's interests. Graham's hawkish statements often implicate Trump in confrontational policies with other countries contrary to his stated agenda, demonstrating one of the deep states' means of containing the recalcitrant president.
Those close to Trump and Graham report that there are deep differences between them. For example, in June 2025, Graham declared his opposition to Trump, who was optimistic about the imminence of a ceasefire in Gaza and the Middle East, and insisted on continuing to strike Iran militarily and not just with the U.S. strike on the Fordow reactor, arguing that Trump should have been more assertive and tougher in dealing with Iran.
Graham is portrayed by the media as a political sycophant who tries to adapt to the broad base of the Republican Party that advocates isolationist policies, but at the same time pushes for confrontational policies around the world that serve the interests of the deep state, even if at the expense of the national interests of the United States.
This prompted former South Carolina deputy governor Chris Bryant to declare in July 2025 that Graham is "not a true Trump supporter," accusing the senator of undermining the president's "America First" slogan. Observers believe that Graham's policies would significantly harm President Trump's stated policies in the interests of the deep state, which is trying to thwart his presidency, in preparation for the election of a successor who is more willing to its interests. This could lead to Trump facing a state of distrust popularity of it, which pushes his reign to a state of functional collapse.