No.Nonsense.

On Sunday, we woke to the unbelievable news that Lindsay Graham had died. Just Friday, he had been meeting with President Zelenskyy in Ukraine. Saturday he was back home in DC and was saying he didn’t feel well. That night EMS was called and he was in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to George Washington Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The suddenness of it shocked everyone.

And because Iran has threatened his life and he was a supporter of Russia, immediately right-wing influencers began to float the idea that his death was under suspicious circumstances, going so far as to imply that it was a political execution from Iran or Russia or both.

FBI Director Kash Patel didn’t help matters when he said he was opening an investigation.

Insert tin foil hat here.

The autopsy has shown he died of an aortic dissection, meaning literally his aorta tore. This can happen quickly and can cause severe internal hemorrhaging. As far as I know, there is no poison or other outside means that is capable of making such an occurrence happen.

Dr Mark Siegel, physician and professor at NYU Langone Medical Center and Fox News Medical Editor, in an interview Monday morning, stated that if he had a weak spot in his aorta from arterial sclerosis, the long hours on the plane travel to Ukraine and back could have hastened the crisis due to the increased risk of deep vein clots in the legs that could break off and go to the heart.

Dr Mehmet Oz said on ABC News that of the people with these aortic dissections, 30% of them die within the first day and 50% within the first two days because by the time you have symptoms there is not enough time to get to a hospital and into surgery to repair it. Anyone who remembers comedic actor John Ritter might also remember this is the same thing that happened to him on set. He received immediate medical attention and got to the hospital quickly but died in the emergency department because of the catastrophic nature of such an event.

Ultimately we likely will not know the precipitating event. His staff has said he had no history of coronary disease but if he had hypertension, that could play a role. It is possible to not display any symptoms at all until that critical event. In fact, there is a type of heart attack that is termed The Widowmaker that instantly kills with no warning.

Also, when you learn that his father died at 69 years old from a heart attack, you see there is a family history. Lindsay was 71. Though sudden, every indication is that this death was of natural causes.

My point in all of this commentary is to say, let the man rest in peace without looking for assassins around every corner. When we pull out the conspiracy theories we prolong the grief of his family and friends.

There was a time when I applauded him when he went after the smear campaign against Brett Cavanaugh. I cheered for him when he defended his friend John McCain’s service after Trump made disparaging comments during the 2016 election. He later hitched his wagon to the Trump train for political expediency, but so did so many others.

In recent months I was highly critical because I felt he was stepping out of his role and trying to act as Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense when it came to the Iran War. I wanted him to step back and follow proper protocol and stop making direct threats to world leaders.

With that said, I do extend my sympathies to his family and friends as they navigate their grief in the public eye. I do hope that whether agree with him or not, we all can find the humanity to say we are sorry for his loss and extend prayers for those who loved him.