President Donald Trump said he spoke with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham shortly before his death in an interview on "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning, where he praised the political career of South Carolina’s influential senior senator.

Graham died Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office announced early Sunday morning.

“I thought he was just going to live forever, and it didn’t work out that way,” Trump said in the phone interview.

Trump said Graham called him in the early evening Saturday, and the two spoke about policy. Graham “sounded great” but was a little tired after traveling back from Ukraine, Trump said. Around 1 a.m., a member of Graham’s staff called Trump to tell him his friend and political ally died.

“He said, you know, ‘I feel good, but I’m tired,’ ” Trump said. “He was fine. I knew him. I knew him well. He would let you know if he wasn’t feeling well. He had days where he didn’t feel so well, and he’d let you know about it.”

Trump, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott spoke on the NBC show Sunday morning at 9 a.m. about Graham.

Graham was scheduled to appear on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, according to a news release sent out Friday afternoon. It would have been his 64th appearance on the show, host Kristen Welker said.

“Overnight, the United States lost one of its most influential and consequential senators,” Welker said at the beginning of the show Sunday morning.

Graham and Trump opposed one another in 2016 while running for president. But in the years that followed, the two became close political allies.

Graham loved being a politician and many of his colleagues liked him, Trump said. Trump endorsed his reelection bid for the U.S. Senate.

“I said the reason I’m endorsing you is because I got to make sure you win,” Trump said Sunday. “Because if you didn’t win, I don’t think you could handle life. I really don’t.”

“I can’t imagine him doing anything else,” the president continued. “I said, ‘If you weren’t a U.S. senator, I don’t know if he could live very long,’ and look what happened.”

Graham was a great politician and good at rallying support, Trump said.

“He’s a tough one to lose,” he said. “He was great. He was unique in every way, actually.”

Trump declined to name who he’d like to see succeed Graham, though he had someone in mind.

“It’s too soon with Lindsey,” Trump said.

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