U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, known for his unbridled enthusiasm for unconstitutional U.S. imperial wars, died Saturday night, July 11, after returning from a short visit to Ukraine. Graham’s trip was the tenth he had made there since Putin’s Special Military Operation began in February 2022. His Russophobia and hatred for Putin led him to demand that the U.S. and NATO fully arm the neo-Nazi militia embedded in Ukrainian defense and security forces. He appeared in videos joking with Banderite neo-Nazi terrorists alongside his close ally, fellow War Hawk, Senator John McCain.
Calling Putin a “thug” and a “bully,” Graham insisted that the U.S. provide an air defense for Ukraine, and long-range missiles to strike targets deep in Russia. When questioned about the billions of dollars of weapons and aid provided by the Biden and Trump administrations, he shrugged off the costs, describing it as a “good deal,” as it “produced dead Russians.” In Congressional hearings, he lied that the funds were really loans—knowing they would never be repaid—or the costs would be covered by U.S. seizure of Ukraine’s raw material wealth.
Graham was equally unhinged in his support for the Netanyahu regime’s genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. In an interview in February 2026, Graham defended Israel’s murder of children in Gaza, by saying the death of Palestinian children was necessary to ensure the survival of Israel. Asked if this view represents “Christian values,” he compared it to allied attacks in World War II! “Did we hesitate while bombing German cities, starving civilians, or dropping bombs on every city until it was destroyed? War is brutal.” To defeat Hamas in Gaza, Graham argued that Israel would be justified using nuclear weapons against them. “This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids,” he blustered.
This justification for Zionist genocide endeared him to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was second only to President Trump in his praise for Graham. Trump called him a “great American patriot,” saying, “Essentially we agree on almost everything.” Netanyahu called him “one of the great champions of the American-Israel alliance,” adding “I’ve lost a beloved friend.” Needless to say, Graham fully supported the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, vilifying Iran’s leaders as “religious Nazis” and spreading the lie that Iran was “weeks away” from possessing nuclear weapons.
Has Trump, who ran in 2024 as a “peace candidate” committed to reducing the budget deficit, reversed his brand to side with the war hawks he once ferociously denounced? He seems, at some level, to be aware that the shutting down of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a consequence of the collapse of the ceasefire based on an MoU, threatens to unleash a global financial disruption, making him the new Herbert Hoover.
Graham’s demands for more defense spending has been a primary reason for why the U.S. deficit has hit record levels. Graham, as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has presided over a record growth in U.S. debt. The debt grew by $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026, and interest on the federal debt has now reached $24 billion a week—almost $100 billion a month. Trump and Graham agreed on a massive increase in defense spending for next fiscal year, adding $500 billion to the $1 trillion previously planned.
Graham’s death may have spared him of the blame for the coming round of military defeats and financial implosion, but not from the judgment of history. As analyst Scott Ritter put it, “Lindsey Graham postured himself as a man of integrity and honor, a patriot’s patriot, who put service to country above all else. A Christian. But the reality is he was anything but.
“Lindsey Graham was a servant of sin.… Lindsey Graham’s life was defined by a constant, intense anger and hatred towards others, which led to him openly advocating for violence and revenge against anyone who did not embrace his world vision.”
