We were all expecting an update on Senator Mitch McConnell this weekend, considering he’s been mysteriously “hospitalized” for the past month with few legitimate updates. Then, rather suddenly, Republican senator Lindsey Graham died on Saturday night. At least his Senate office confirmed it immediately, although that seems to be the only straight-forward part about this. Graham was *just* in Ukraine a few days before his death, touring a drone factory and promising to put significant sanctions on Russia. So… yeah.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, has died after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said. He was 71.
The statement posted on social media late Saturday did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican, a former Air Force lawyer, and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague.”
Thune said Graham was “a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”
Graham was one of the most influential figures in Washington on foreign policy, and he advised Trump on matters such as Iran and Russia. The senator had just returned from Ukraine and announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. He had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning.
The fact that he was scheduled to appear on Meet the Press on Sunday is WILD. Like, it was not on anyone’s radar that he was anything other than perfectly fine. He was 71, which is “young” for a Republican senator, you know? McConnell was/is 84 and Chuck Grassley is 92, for what it’s worth. Graham’s colleagues must have been a bit suspicious too, because they got the medical examiner to look into his passing immediately, on Sunday. The DC Office of of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Graham’s cause of death was “a ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease.”
Additionally, Graham was up for reelection this year. He won his 2020 election by a healthy margin, but even before this, Democratic candidate Dr. Annie Andrews was only trailing Graham by about three points. Democrats need to flood her campaign with money and high-profile surrogates. Get Barack Obama down there. Joe Biden too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Andrew Thomas/CNP/INSTARimages, Michael Bihlmayer/DDP/INSTARimages.
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- United States Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina), Chairman, US Senate Judiciary Committee, listens during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Tuesday, November 10, 2020, on a probe of the FBI’s Russia investigation.,Image: 568339827, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: usage worldwide, Model Release: no
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- EXCLUSIVE Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on whether taxpayer dollars should go to companies that violate labor laws in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2022. Credit: Samuel Corum / CNP Where: Washington, District of Columbia, Vereinigte Staaten When: 05 May 2022 Credit: Samuel Corum – CNP/DPA/Cover Images **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK AND USA**
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- Senator Lindsey Graham Holds Press Conference On Late-Term Abortions Act United States Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) offers remarks during a press conference on the introduction of the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act, in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Featuring: Senator Lindsey Graham Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 13 Sep 2022 Credit: Rod Lamkey/CNP/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
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- EXCLUSIVE United States Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) offers remarks during a press conference on the introduction of the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act, in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Tuesday, September 13, 2022. Credit: Rod Lamkey / CNP Where: Washington, District of Columbia, Vereinigte Staaten When: 13 Sep 2022 Credit: Rod Lamkey – CNP/DPA/Cover Images **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK AND USA**
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- Lindsey Graham speaks at a panel discussion on the situation in Iran at the Munich Security Conference 2026 Featuring: Lindsey Graham Where: Munich, Germany When: 13 Feb 2026 Credit: Michael Bihlmayer/DDP/INSTARimages **USA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- United States Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) gives remarks to the media and takes some questions ahead of an all-US Senate briefing of the US – Israel war against Iran in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Featuring: Lindsey Graham Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 03 Mar 2026 Credit: Andrew Thomas/CNP/INSTARimages
Good riddance to a deeply closeted homophobe who was enthusiastic about sending other people’s children to die in America’s forever wars.
Not so closeted. According to one of my offspring, his nickname among DC’s sex worker community was “Lady G.”
Sudden death by ladybugs, undoubtedly.
They’re Weekend at Bernie-ing Turtleneck McConnell, now Graham. As these things happen in threes, and that’s 2 down, I’m getting my “For When He Dies” candle ready for lighting. It’s white sage and lavender, for extra fresh cleansing. 🤞
Conspiracy theories abound, but when an aortic aneurysm ruptures, you’re toast in a hurry. I doubt the DC medical examiner has any reason to lie. Someone said the reason it’s so damn hot here (it’s a thousand degrees here in Minnesota this morning) is because the gates of hell have opened.
Lindsey Graham was an alcoholic that was not in good health and he was a ticking time bomb.
However I am okay if Trump thinks someone assassinated him and he hides away like a frightened toddler.
Thoughts and prayers.
And ladybugs.
Actually just “thoughts”….lots and lots of thoughts. 😒
Tater tots and pears.
One down…..
Hmm. If Karma came to town for a visit, and she brought the devil along to collect, there’s nothing we can do 🤷♀️
Always sticking his face in front of every television camera to opine on every topic and insult others for no reason
House Impeachment manager who ordered Monica Lewinsky detained in a hotel room over a weekend while he and Ken Starr interrogated her over her sex life
Posted memes of himself laughing while running away from angry sexual assault victims during the Kavanaugh hearings
After the McCain family made it known the Trumps weren’t invited to John’s funeral, while standing in front of CSpan cameras at the Capitol lying-in, told Cindy McCain that he invited Ivanka to the funeral.
Brought Ivanka to McCain’s funeral where she vogued for the CSpan cameras through the whole service and played with her phone during the eulogies. Supposedly an observant Orthodox Jew, Ivanka shouldn’t have been using a phone on a Sabbath, never mind playing with one during a funeral
Election 2020 made phone calls to Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada encouraging them to throw out mail-in ballots so the election would go in Trump’s favor. Did it with such ease, it was clear he had done it before and expected to get his way
January 6, 2021, appeared visibly drunk on the Senate floor while mumbling something about how the day’s events weren’t supposed to end that way and he couldn’t keep up the fight
These are just some of my memories of Lindsey Graham. May he rest where God throws him
Exactly. He was a terrible human being.