President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to contradict the Washington, D.C. Medical Examiner’s preliminary findings about what killed South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham over the weekend when he told reporters that the aortic dissection that felled the Palmetto State Republican wasn’t related to blocked arteries.
Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump was responding to a question about why FBI agents were seen at the senator’s home after his sudden death when he attributed Graham’s sudden passing to what he called “a problem” along the lines of what had killed Graham’s father decades ago.
“At first, I heard it was clogged arteries because he did have clogged arteries. He had a problem with that ... I wish he took better care of himself,” the president said.
But as Trump continued, he contradicted those earlier reported preliminary findings by telling reporters that Graham’s death was due to “a totally different thing” that was “not related to any blockage.”
“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 it. Sounds unfortunate, but there's not much you can do about it,” Trump said.
Graham, who had served in Congress since 1994, died in the wee hours of Sunday morning, just days after returning from his 10th visit to Ukraine.
A statement issued by his office within hours said he’d died from a “brief and sudden illness,” but a preliminary report from the Washington, DC, medical examiner's office attributed his death to an aortic dissection, which is a shredding of the inner wall of the aorta. The ME’s preliminary report linked the tear to hardening of Graham’s arteries caused by high cholesterol.
An aortic dissection is a serious medical emergency that can rapidly kill without warning, especially when it occurs outside of a hospital setting.
According to the American Heart Association, it is a tear in the aorta’s inner wall that lets blood leak into other layers of the major blood vessel. Risk factors for the condition include high blood pressure, high cholesterol that in turn stiffens arteries — called atherosclerosis — smoking and also genetic predisposition.
Graham’s sudden death has led to a rash of conspiracy theories among some of the president’s supporters, many of whom have suggested some sort of foul play was to blame.
FBI Director Kash Patel fed into the frenzy of theorizing when he posted on X that the FBI was investigating the senator’s demise.
But Trump appeared to pour cold water on the idea that there’s anything for Patel or his agency to look into, telling reporters that he’s aware “there's all sorts of conspiracy theories going along” but dismissing them out of hand.
“I think the FBI is wasting their time if they're doing that,” he said.
With reporting by the Associated Press
