Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Key Democrat opposes GOP Section 230 subpoena for Facebook, Twitter, Google MORE (R-S.C.), a longtime friend of the late Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainAnalysis: Biden victory, Democratic sweep would bring biggest boost to economy The Memo: Trump's strengths complicate election picture Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE (R-Ariz.), on Tuesday revealed the last words McCain said to him before he died on Saturday.

"He had a romantic view of our nation until his last breath," Graham said on NBC's "Today" show. "Literally almost the last thing he said to me was, 'I love you. I have not been cheated.' "

"He was not cheated," Graham added.

“This man was the conscience of the Senate... Literally almost the last thing he said to me was ‘I love you. I have not been cheated.’” @LindseyGrahamSC on McCain pic.twitter.com/4PaqgaH0Pv — TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 28, 2018

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Graham answered questions about what McCain thought about the South Carolina senator's continued defense of President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE. McCain and Trump had a combative relationship dating back to 2015.

"I don’t have the luxury of pretending like Donald Trump’s not president," Graham said. "I do want to help him, I want to be a bridge where I can."

"Sen. McCain never got mad at you about that?" NBC's Savannah Guthrie asked Graham.

"Oh, no," he replied. "It wouldn’t have mattered. I’d have done it anyway. I’m too much like him."

"The bottom line is, John has shown that it’s not about you," Graham added. "Country first means that, even if it’s inconvenient for you and it makes you uncomfortable, you do it anyway. Country first hurts, but it’s the right way to go."

McCain died on Saturday, more than a year after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

"This man was the conscience of the Senate," Graham said. "He was at times the conscience of the nation. And if I had to pick one person in this great land to explain to someone from a different planet — 'Who are these Americans?' — it would be John McCain, with an assist from [McCain's former chief of staff] Mark Salter."

Graham will read a tribute to McCain at his Washington, D.C., memorial service on Saturday.