One of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has died at the age of 71. I mentionedThat death occurred after a “short and sudden illness.” There were no other details in this message.
According to audio recordings of police radio communications, receive NBC News, On the evening of July 11 in Washington, emergency personnel responded to a report of a “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s home on Capitol Hill. The post reports that CPR was later performed at his home.
A press release announcing Graham’s death appeared on the evening of Saturday, July 11.
Donald Trump wrote on social media: “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest men and senators I have ever known, has passed away! He always worked hard and was a true American patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! Details and funeral information will be announced at a later date. Very sad!”
And also Trump I mentionedWho spoke to Graham on the phone hours before his death: “He looked a little tired, but he was great.”
Graham has been a proponent of tougher policies against Russia and Iran. On Sunday, he was supposed to announce new sanctions against the Russian Federation
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Graham “is an ardent supporter of the United States and a staunch ally of freedom-loving nations around the world. He believed in the power of America to do good in the world and devoted his life to advancing that cause.”
how He writes The newspaper of the South Carolina State, Graham grew up in Central City (now population just over five thousand). Graham’s father and mother ran a restaurant and pool hall downtown. The future senator was the first in his family to receive a higher education.
He then served in the United States Air Force for 33 years, including more than six years on active duty as an attorney. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2015 with the rank of Colonel.
Graham won a Senate seat in 2003 – representing his home state. In recent years he served as Chairman of the Budget Committee.
In 2015, the senator announced that he would run for president as a conservative and run in the primary against Trump. At the time, the confrontation between Graham and Trump was serious: the former called his opponent “unfit” for the presidency, and the latter read out his cell phone number during a campaign rally in Graham’s home state.
But the senator quickly withdrew his nomination in favor of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of former presidents.
But after Trump’s victory, conservative Graham became an ally of the US president. Although in 2021, after Trump supporters stormed the White House, Graham refused to support the former president’s actions, and then stood by him again.
As the Associated Press notes, Graham was in Washington one of the most influential figures in foreign policy. He was advising Trump on issues related to Iran and Russia.
Graham has been following Russian policy for a long time: in the 2000s, he viewed Russia as a threat to all emerging democracies. Referring to the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, he said: “I will continue to support Georgia moving forward and becoming a shining example of what can happen after the collapse of the Soviet Union.”
When Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden, who provided information to the media about the work of American intelligence services, Graham called on the American authorities to boycott the Olympic Games in Sochi, which were scheduled to be held a year later. After the signing in 2014, the senator addressed President Barack Obama, saying that “the Obama administration and our NATO allies have betrayed Ukraine.”
All this time, Graham continued to support Ukraine, and in 2016 he visited the front in Donbas. In 2022, after the start of a full-scale invasion, Senator Antony Blinken called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism (this decision was not approved by the Biden administration).
In March 2022, during an appearance on Fox, Graham called on Putin’s entourage to “act like Brutus,” meaning to kill the Russian president: “This won’t end unless someone in Russia takes this guy down. Only the Russians can fix what’s going on.”
Graham’s words about Brutus have been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. In May 2023, the senator was added to the Russian register of extremists and terrorists. Commenting on the arrest warrant issued by the Ministry of the Interior, Graham invited the Russian authorities to meet him in The Hague – at the International Criminal Court.
The day before his death, Graham returned from Ukraine; On July 10, he announced the promotion of a set of sanctions against Russia. On the morning of July 12, he was scheduled to appear on NBC to talk about the matter.
Graham and fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal have been pressing Trump for more than a year to approve legislation to increase economic pressure on Russia and its energy buyers. Reports Financial Times newspaper. In a joint statement about the bill, Republican Senators Graham and Roger Wicker and Democrats Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen said:
As Russia increases its mass killings of civilians, it is critical that the legislative and executive branches of government do so [США] They worked together to create tools to charge high prices to those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling Putin’s war machine.
“America and the world have lost a decisive leader.” books Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on his Telegram channel on July 12. He added that Graham “visited Ukraine 10 times during the years of the large-scale Russian invasion and was here with our people when they needed him most.”
Commenting on Graham’s death, the Russian Senator from Sakhalin, Chairman of the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Grigory Karasin, said that the US Senator “brought little positivity to relations between the United States and Russia.”
The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry have not yet commented on Graham’s death.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer said that Russia or Iran may have been involved in Graham’s death. No evidence was provided
Trump ally Laura Loomer malethat Graham could have been poisoned by Russia and requested a toxicological examination. she reminderthat philosopher Alexander Dugin, who is close to the Kremlin, recently called for Graham’s killing (Medusa was unable to find the original tweet referred to by Loomer).
Commenting on Graham’s death, Dugin wrote on his Telegram channel that “rejoicing in the death of a person is ugly and unacceptable,” and then insulted Graham, as he did more than once: “But here is the question: Is the anti-Russophobe, anti-gay, anti-Zionist, and extremist terrorist still a person?” (Author’s spelling preserved.)
And Loomer too maleThat Iran may be involved in the death of Lindsey Graham. by Data In the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, it was Graham who convinced Trump to authorize strikes on Iran in 2025. He also called for a tougher US foreign policy.
Azerbaijani newspaper Minval noted how Iranian television commented on Graham’s death. “Lindsey Graham, the anti-Iran senator, has gone to hell,” a news anchor on the state-owned IRIN TV channel said on air. <...> Incitement to attack Iran, rejoicing in the killing of the Iranian people, and supporting the murderous Zionist regime are all on the record of this American Senator. “It’s so good news that I want to read it to you again.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maleAnd that Graham was “a great friend of Israel”: “We have no better friend than Lindsey. He understood that the security of Israel and America were inseparable. He devoted his life to protecting America, strengthening our union, and defending the free world.”
One of the former Israeli prime ministers, Naftali Bennett, tweeted: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Senator Lindsey Graham. America has lost a loyal patriot, and Israel has lost one of its best friends. Lindsey courageously supported Israel during our most difficult times.”
Kurdish publication Kurd Press on news of Graham’s death He writesHe is “one of the most prominent supporters of the Kurds in the US Congress”: “In recent years, he has repeatedly called for Washington’s support for the Kurds in Syria and the Iraqi Kurdistan region.”
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Express Our condolences to the US Senator’s family and colleagues: “I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham. It was an honor to meet him and see his strong commitment to freedom, democracy and security in our region. Belarus has lost a friend and principled ally.”
Graham was one of the first and most important contacts in Tikhanovskaya’s office in the US Republican Party, adds the Belarusian newspaper Zerkalo.
The date and location of Lindsey Graham’s funeral have not yet been announced.