Trump downplays FBI role after Graham death: ‘I wish he took better care of himself’

Administration Trump downplays FBI role after Graham death: ‘I wish he took better care of himself’ Comments: by Mallory Wilson - 07/14/26 12:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Mallory Wilson - 07/14/26 12:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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President Trump said he did not know why the FBI showed up at the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C) home in Washington, saying the bureau is “wasting their time.”

“Well, I don’t know why because I think he had a problem,” Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday while meeting with the Iraqi prime minister. “His father had a pretty similar problem, as you know, it’s very unique.”

“I don’t see a lot of evil there, I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going along and I think the FBI is wasting their time if they’re doing that,” he added.

Graham died Saturday evening from what his office said was a “brief and sudden illness.” The chief medical examiner preliminarily ruled on Sunday that the 71-year-old died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The South Carolina Republican’s father died at the age of 69 from a heart attack.

“At first I heard It was clogged arteries,” the president said of the late senator. “Because he did have clogged arteries. He had a problem with that. He was – I wish he took better care of himself.”

Trump said he’s reviewed the medical reports and has heard from White House doctors to explain what happened.

“This is something that is very, almost undetectable and if it happens there’s not much you can do about it,” he said. “It sounds unfortunate but there’s not much you can do about it.”

FBI personnel were spotted outside of Graham’s home in the district on Monday. Suspicions started to circulate not long after his death.

Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer questioned on social media: “Was he poisoned by a foreign adversary either abroad or upon returning to the US?”

Former GOP Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) also floated the idea that something could have happened to Graham.

“We need a full autopsy of Senator Lindsay Graham,” Santos wrote on social media. “I believe foul play could have been at play here.”

On Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel said his bureau was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available” in the wake of Graham’s death, but the FBI has declined to comment on what they were looking for.

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Jeffery Carroll also said Sunday that his team was leading the investigation into the death of Graham.

The office of Dr. Francisco Diaz, D.C.’s chief medical examiner, said in a joint statement with Carroll that a complete toxicological and microscopic test will “take time.”