New details are being revealed about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s final hours before his sudden death.
A person who spoke with Graham, 71, on Saturday, July 11, claimed to Axios that the senator complained that he was feeling unwell.
When the person urged him to seek medical attention immediately, Graham said he wanted to wait until his scheduled appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, July 12.
According to Axios, Graham joked, “I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Graham’s spokesperson for comment.
Graham’s office confirmed that the South Carolina politician died unexpectedly on Saturday night in a social media post.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the statement, posted via X on Sunday, read. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffery W. Carroll and the District of Columbia Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Francisco J. Diaz confirmed to Us that Graham’s preliminary cause of death was from an “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
An aortic dissection is also referred to as an aorta rupture, per the Mayo Clinic, which can occur when arteries harden over time.
Hours before his death, Graham spoke with President Donald Trump by phone on Saturday evening and spoke about his recent trip to Ukraine.
“He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired — he had the right to be, he was a worker,” Trump, 80, shared on Sunday’s episode of Meet the Press. “He was really a worker. But he sounded great, actually. But he actually said he was tired.”
Since Graham’s death, both Republicans and Democrats have paid tribute to the late senator on social media.
Meghan McCain expressed hopes that Graham is reunited with his close friends, including Sen. John McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman.
‘The news of his death was shocking and deeply saddening for me and my family. Like many relationships in life, mine with Lindsey was complex in later years,” she wrote via X on Sunday. “I choose to remember the endless laughter and joy he brought to my family. These memories are some of the most precious of my life. I hope that he is at peace and I hope he is in heaven, drinking a White Russian and fishing with my dad and Joe.”
