{"id":5104,"date":"2026-07-13T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5104"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:00:19","slug":"lindsey-graham-joked-i-cant-die-now-after-complaining-he-felt-unwell-hours-before-sudden-death-at-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5104","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Graham joked &#8216;I can&#8217;t die now&#8217; after complaining he felt unwell hours before sudden death at 71"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2Fman-arrested-portland-oregon-attempted-134247687.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly joked \u201cI can\u2019t die now\u201d after complaining he felt unwell \u2013 hours before he died at the age of 71 from a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/12\/us-news\/senator-lindsey-grahams-preliminary-cause-of-death-revealed\/\">suspected ruptured aorta<\/a> brought on by chronic heart disease.<\/p>\n<p>Graham\u2019s death was announced in the early hours of Sunday \u2013 a little over a day after he <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/12\/us-news\/lindsey-graham-toured-top-secret-ukrainian-drone-factory-days-before-his-death\/\">toured a secret Ukrainian military drone factory<\/a> and sat down for talks with the war-torn country\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n<p>Graham, who was due to appear on Sunday\u2019s episode of NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d told someone close to him he was feeling unwell Saturday after returning from his Ukraine trip, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/07\/12\/lindsey-graham-israel-saudi-peace-iran\">Axios reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>US Senator Lindsey Graham shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. <span class=\"credit\">Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,\u201d the Trump ally quipped, according to the source.<\/p>\n<p>Graham spoke with President Trump about his trip to Ukraine and the bipartisan Russian sanctions package the pol was spearheading through Congress with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Lawmakers had reached an agreement with the White House \u2013 and the measures would allow the Trump administration to slap hefty tariffs on nations fueling Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin\u2019s war machine.<\/p>\n<p>Blumenthal said passing the bill would be a \u201cfitting tribute\u201d to the late senator.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will forever remember our last lengthy conversation this weekend, when he exulted at reaching an agreement on our Russian sanctions bill &amp; said, \u2018this is a big effing deal\u2014we all did good,\u2019\u201d Blumenthal <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenBlumenthal\/status\/2076357054281744676\">wrote on X Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was tireless in pursuing freedom for Ukraine &amp; brought to this cause his signature relentless energy &amp; optimism,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe marched to his own drummer. He could be strong-minded, fiercely driven, &amp; sometimes unpredictable, but also deeply compassionate &amp; sympathetic when he saw suffering &amp; injustice. I was always impressed with his kindness to people we met along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Post\u2019s front cover paying tribute to Graham. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he would put forward a Russia sanctions bill in the House of Representatives, while Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) suggested the package could be on Trump\u2019s desk this week.<\/p>\n<p>Graham was also pushing for an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal before the swearing in of the new Congress in January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>He was reportedly planning trips to Israel and Saudi Arabia to see if there was any scope for talks.<\/p>\n<p>Graham suggested work for intensive talks could start in September \u2013 with a framework for a deal agreed by November, coinciding with the US midterms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The pol had identified the lame duck period between the two Congresses for potential ratification.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Saudi Arabia has long vowed it will not normalize relations with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is created. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shaking hands with US Senator Lindsey Graham. <span class=\"credit\">via REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Pictures showed Graham being wheeled out of his DC home on a gurney.  <span class=\"credit\">TMZ DC.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Graham\u2019s team said he died from a \u201csudden illness\u201d before preliminary findings from the DC medical examiner\u2019s office revealed he died from \u201cAortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The condition involves a tear in the body\u2019s main artery; it mostly affects older men, according to the Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,\u201d the medical examiner\u2019s office said in its initial assessment.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump led the tributes to Graham \u2013 describing the longtime pol as \u201cone of the greatest people\u201d he had known.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116905798341654664\">posted on Truth Social<\/a> early Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>But the two didn\u2019t always see eye to eye.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Graham speaks to the press in the Oval Office.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Graham was one of Trump\u2019s sharpest Republican critics during the 2016 presidential campaign and even ran against him for the GOP nomination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed \u2026 and we will deserve it,\u201d Graham warned at the time.<\/p>\n<p>After the 2016 election, however, the two became close political allies, with Graham emerging as an outspoken defender of Trump in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Graham stood firmly behind Trump during both of the president\u2019s impeachment trials, voting to acquit him each time.<\/p>\n<p>After Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Graham backed Trump\u2019s efforts to challenge the results in several battleground states but ultimately accepted Biden\u2019s victory after the Electoral College certified the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also campaigned with Trump during the 2024 presidential race and was a key Trump ally on foreign policy and national security.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, Graham was one of the strongest Republican voices backing Trump\u2019s decision to strike Iran, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/18\/world-news\/sen-lindsey-graham-calls-for-trump-to-create-circle-of-death-around-irans-nuclear-sites\/\">arguing the military action was necessary to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a lot of respect for President Trump. He is his own man,\u201d Graham <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/22\/graham-trump-iran-strike-aides-oppose\">told Axios<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd as with all presidents, he will be held responsible for his decisions on such weighty matters. As to me, history will be very clear as to where I stood, for better or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly joked \u201cI can\u2019t die now\u201d after complaining he felt unwell \u2013 hours before he died at the age of 71 from a suspected ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease. Graham\u2019s death was announced in the early hours of Sunday \u2013 a little over a day after he toured a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/man-arrested-portland-oregon-attempted-134247687.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}