President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed the idea that federal investigators need to be looking closely into the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, telling reporters at the White House that he believes “the FBI is wasting their time” and pointing to what he said was a medical explanation involving an undetectable condition Graham’s father had also suffered from.
The comments came in response to a reporter’s question during a joint appearance with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, when Trump was asked whether he was aware of where the FBI’s involvement in the case stood. “I don’t know why because I think he had a problem, his father had a very similar problem, as you know. It’s very unique,” Trump said. “At first I heard clogged arteries because I did hear clogged arteries. He had a problem with that. I wish he took better care of himself. You can solve that problem. But what happened was something very hard to detect. It wasn’t related to the blockage. It was a totally different thing.”
Trump Describes White House Medical Briefings
Trump said he had been briefed directly by White House doctors on the circumstances of Graham’s death. “Supposedly and I’ve watched all the medical reports, I’ve had the doctors from the White House come in and explain what happened, and this is something that is very, almost undetectable, and, if it happens, there’s not much you can do about,” Trump said. “Unfortunate, but there’s not much you can do about it.”
Trump drew a direct comparison to Graham’s father, saying he died of a similar cause at a similar age, and described a warning sign he said often goes unrecognized. “If you look, his father died of the same thing at about the same age. They say it’s almost undetectable. You can detect it by if you have a very bad back, that’s a sign, that’s a bad sign,” Trump said. “So if anybody has a bad back, it’s a pretty rough thing to think about, but that’s one of the primary symptoms and he would tell me he had a bad back but little did anyone realize it’s from that. And when that bursts, which it did, it bursts, I don’t see a lot of people there, conspiracy theories come along. I think the FBI’s wasting their time if they are doing that.”
What Officials Have Said About Graham’s Death
Graham, a 71-year-old Republican from South Carolina who had become one of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate, died over the weekend of July 11 after what his office initially described as a “brief and sudden illness.” A 911 call reporting cardiac arrest was placed from his residence Saturday evening, according to reporting from The Hill. His office later said he died of an aortic dissection.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau’s involvement the day after Graham’s death, writing on social media that “the FBI is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffery Carroll said his department is leading the investigation, with the FBI in a supporting role, according to The Hill. Federal law enforcement sources told multiple outlets, including Fox News, that no evidence of foul play had been found and that the FBI’s assistance is part of the standard process local authorities follow when a sitting member of Congress dies.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia said in a joint statement with Carroll that comprehensive toxicological and microscopic testing on Graham would “take time” to complete, testing intended to determine whether any substances were in his system at the time of his death, according to The Hill’s reporting.
Online Speculation Trump Was Responding To
Trump’s remarks came amid a wave of online speculation about the circumstances of Graham’s death, fueled in part by his recent role advising the administration on Russia and Iran policy. Graham had reached a bipartisan agreement with the White House on the language of a Russia sanctions bill just two days before his death and had recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, according to The Hill.
Some conservative commentators publicly pushed for a fuller accounting of Graham’s cause of death even after the aortic dissection determination. Megan Mobbs, director of the Center for American Safety and Security at the Independent Women’s Forum, argued on social media that “cardiac arrest tells us how his life ended. It does not tell us why his heart stopped,” and called for a complete forensic autopsy and toxicology review, according to Yahoo News.
A Senator Trump Called a Close Ally
Trump had spoken with Graham the night before his death, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” days later that the senator “sounded a little tired, but perfect,” and had “a right to be” tired given his travel schedule, according to The Hill’s reporting. Following the news of Graham’s death, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Graham was “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known,” calling him “a true American Patriot” who would be “greatly missed.”
The White House ordered flags flown at half-staff following Graham’s death. Tributes also came from foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reflecting Graham’s long-running role as one of the Senate’s most prominent voices on foreign policy involving Iran, Russia and Israel.
Where the Investigation Stands
As of Tuesday, no law enforcement agency had publicly indicated that foul play was suspected in Graham’s death, and officials have repeatedly characterized the FBI’s role as supportive of the Metropolitan Police Department’s lead investigation rather than evidence of a separate federal inquiry. Toxicology and forensic results that could close out remaining questions about the senator’s death had not yet been released.