To call Lindsey Graham’s death sudden would be a spectacular understatement. Yes, the Republican senator for South Carolina was 71, but unlike several of his Senate colleagues, he had no known health issues and kept up an active schedule.
Graham, a vital Trump ally and one of the few remaining Republican foreign policy hawks, died after “brief and sudden” illness on Saturday evening, his office said in a statement early on Sunday.
The timing of his death just days after a supportive visit to Ukraine and shortly before the announcement of new US sanctions on Russia and permissions for Kyiv to construct US missiles, has already set off a huge wave of online speculation – though at this stage no mainstream reporting suggests it was anything other than a man in his 70s having a heart attack.
Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict against Russia who was in regular contact with Zelensky, was due to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning. Instead, reports emerged of his unexpected death, reportedly of a cardiac arrest at his home.
For Donald Trump, the death of a personal friend and outspoken supporter of the President’s interventions in Iran and other countries is a blow at a time when he is restarting an unpopular war.
