WATCH: Lindsey Graham Remembers His Friend John McCain in Tearful Senate Floor Speech

Senator Lindsey Graham was close with John McCain for many, many years, and today Graham delivered a heartfelt, emotional speech on the Senate floor this afternoon paying tribute to his friend.

Graham talked about McCain’s sense of humor and some of the jokes he shared over the years, including how Arizona is the once place where “mothers tell their children you can never grow up to be president.”

“I am gonna miss these dumb jokes,” he said.

He reflected on everything he learned from McCain, including witnessing how “the captured warrior who was tortured became the statesman who forgave and healed.”

“I remember him embracing a war that nobody wanted to talk about because he understood what it would cost to lose it,” he said. “I remember him supporting the surge when everybody was willing to get out of Iraq because they were so tired of it and saw no way forward. I remember the fighter.”

Graham spoke of McCain as a healer and unifier who was graceful in defeat and accepting of failures before continuing:

“To those striving as a young person, remember John McCain. He failed a lot, but he never quit and the reason we’re talking about him today and the reason I’m crying is because he was successful. In spite of his failures. For family and friends, the after action report would say a relationship with Maverick brought joy and difficulty. Both were your constant companion. He was a difficult man. He could be tough. But the joy that you received from being with him will sustain you for a lifetime. And I am so lucky to have been in his presence.”

He even said at one point that people should try to follow in his footsteps, saying, “Be more like John McCain. I believe there’s a little John McCain in all of us. And a little John McCain practiced by a lot of people can make this a really great nation.”

You can watch above, via CBS.

[image via screengrab]

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