Lindsey Graham Brushed Off Urgent Medical Advice With Morbid Joke Hours Before His Death: Axios

Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

The late Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly dismissed advice to seek immediate medical attention after admitting he felt unwell in the hours before his sudden death on Saturday, joking that he “can’t die now” and citing his ambition to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations.

The South Carolina Republican told a confidant he would wait until Sunday morning to seek treatment despite feeling unwell after a series of high-level calls on foreign policy, according to an account from Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

Graham had spent the final weeks of his life laying the groundwork for a renewed diplomatic push aimed at brokering normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to Ravid.

On Saturday evening, Graham spoke by phone with Trump, briefing the president on his recent trip to Ukraine and urging action on a Russia sanctions bill awaiting a Senate vote.

During the call, Trump told Graham he was preparing fresh military strikes against Iran following another attack on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Ravid reported.

Shortly afterward, Graham reportedly told another person he was feeling unwell. When urged to seek medical attention immediately, the senator declined, saying he would wait until after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press the next morning.

Axios reported that Graham joked, “I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization.”

He died several hours later from an “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”

Graham had viewed Saudi-Israel normalization as the cornerstone of a broader postwar Middle East settlement following the conflict with Iran, according to Ravid. He believed weakening Iranian influence had created a rare opening for Trump to broker a historic agreement and had discussed the effort with the president, as well as senior advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Graham had also held discussions with Israeli and Saudi officials, Ravid reported, and was planning a trip to both countries in the coming weeks to gauge support for restarting negotiations.

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