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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Ariana Baio

Trump, 80, has been musing about his own mortality in the wake of Lindsey Graham’s death: report

President Donald Trump has reportedly been musing over his own mortality since the death of his friend and fellow Republican Lindsey Graham.

In public and private, Trump, 80, has said he was shocked by Graham’s sudden death on July 11. Those close to the president say that Trump has been rattled by the death of a close ally, nearly 10 years younger, according to the Washington Post.

“I said ‘You guys, I just can’t believe it,’” Trump told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on July 12, describing his feelings after learning Graham had died.

In another interview with “Fox & Friends” on July 13, Trump reiterated that Graham was a “workaholic” and “just didn’t stop.”

Trump is expected to attend Graham’s funeral Tuesday afternoon and later lead a tribute to the former South Carolina senator at the Washington National Cathedral.

Graham died earlier this month from an aorta tear in his heart – likely caused by the hardening of arteries, a medical examiner said. Graham died shortly after returning to the United States from a visit in Ukraine.

Trump has said he was speaking with Graham on the phone, just hours before the 71-year-old senator died.

“What makes it even stranger is I got a call last night, sometime in the early evening… and he called, he said ‘we’re all set for the SAVE America Act,” Trump told NBC News. “He sounded a little tired but perfect but a little bit tired.”

In interviews, the president has repeatedly highlighted how hard-working and energetic Graham was, emphasizing how unexpected the senator’s death was.

“I don’t feel great. He was a great guy. He was a friend. He would call me all the time. I’d say ‘stop calling me Lindsey.’ It just – he was amazing,” Trump told “Fox & Friends.”

Graham died unexpectedly earlier this month from an aortic tear caused by the hardening of his arteries – he had spoken with President Donald Trump just hours before he died (Getty)
Graham died unexpectedly earlier this month from an aortic tear caused by the hardening of his arteries – he had spoken with President Donald Trump just hours before he died (Getty)

“Everything for him was about work,” Trump added.

Trump, who has also been described as a workaholic by his close allies, has reflected on his own life in the aftermath of Graham’s death.

In a July 13 interview with Newsmax, the president said he watches the video of himself surviving the 2024 attempted assassination at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania “all the time.”

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