Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71, sending shockwaves through Washington and South Carolina politics.
In this Breaking News episode of A Numbers Game, Ryan Girdusky reflects on Senator Lindsey Graham's decades-long political career, his unexpected passing, and the impact his death could have on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
Ryan also examines:
- Lindsey Graham's political legacy and evolution
- His final public appearances before his passing
- How South Carolina will fill the vacant Senate seat
- Governor Henry McMaster's role in appointing a temporary replacement
- The upcoming special election and potential Republican candidates
- Why this race could reshape conservative politics in South Carolina
Whether you admired Lindsey Graham or disagreed with his politics, his passing marks the end of one of the most influential and recognizable careers in modern American politics.
#BreakingNews #LindseyGraham #SouthCarolina #Senate #Politics #RyanGirdusky #ElectionNews #Republican #USSenate #PoliticalNews
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to a mini episode of a numbers game with
Ryan Gradowski. I had to just jump on and come
in a little bit about the passing of a Lindsay
Graham who suddenly and unexpectedly passed at the age of
seventy one. There was a call around I think one
o'clock in the morning or midnight last night, and they
were calling for cardiac arrest and Lindsay Graham was unresponsive
(00:22):
and sadly passed away. It was completely unexpected, as Lindsay
Graham was just in Ukraine I think forty eight hours
ago and he was expected to do meet the press
on Sunday morning, so no one expected it. The man's
been in office since nineteen ninety four, long, very elusius
might not be the correct word, but very well known career.
(00:44):
If you think of all the politicians who have been
around for thirty years and you could try to list
their accomplishments, Graham comes up very high as far as
people who made the most of their office. I from
the moment I got involved in Poppy copletely honest, everybody.
From the moment I got involved in politics around two
thousand and six, I couldn't stay on Lindsey Grant in
(01:08):
his politics. Obviously I didn't know the man, but his politics.
Couldn't stand them. Everything about GOP politics that I disliked
were encompassed in Lindsay Graham. And I remember in I
don't you remember when Trump was running the first time
and he read Lindsay Graham's phone number out loud like
(01:28):
it wasn't like the greatest moment ever anyway, that was
a total side note. So I remember in twenty eighteen,
twenty nineteen, Lindsay gram was the keynote speaker out of
dinner I was attending for the American Spectator and I
went with Chris Kobok to this dinner, and I remember
looking at Chris and saying, Chris, I am not clapping
for anything this man says. He is not winning me over.
(01:51):
I have spent thirty years at this point disliking this
man's politics. I am not or twenty something years disliking
this man's politics. I am not clapping for him. And Chris,
you know, because he's from like the Midwest, and he's
like a nice guy. He collapsed for everybody but Lindsey Graham.
I'm not gonna lie. I watched him speak, and then
I met him afterwards, very briefly, the only time I
(02:12):
ever met him, and I completely understood why he was
a US senator. He was funny, funny, funny, funny, funny
in a way that I did not expect him to
be at all charming, personable worked the room. It was
a room full of people who were probably angry at
Graham for not being even more anti Trump or not
(02:35):
being trying Trump. Was a very like moderate centrist, old
guard Republican room, and he at the time was causing
to Trump very quickly, and they were probably very angry
at that. So the fact that he won them over
on that and did not isolate people like me or
Chris or anybody like that, I was very, very very impressed,
(02:56):
and I completely got it in that moment where I
was like, Okay, I get it. I see the talent,
the unbelievable level of talent, And he was talented as
a as a as a as a politician, and as
a campaigner. The man just won every single county against
a very well funded primary challenger a couple of weeks ago.
(03:16):
I mean, that's nothing to sneeze that. So I hope
he rests in peace. It's seventy one is not old
in twenty twenty six in America. If you were listening
to this and you were in your early seventies, you
are not old, you know, unless you have some kind
of horrendous disease. Most seven year olds are very very active, energetic,
(03:38):
you know, useful hearts of the community, and they are
thriving in their early seventies. Is not like it was
a long time ago when I was growing up. So
seventy one is not old enough to die. His office
is setting saying he had a brief illness. Once again,
he was in Ukraine forty eight hours ago, so it
couldn't have been serious enough where he wasn't flying, and
(04:00):
he was supposed to fly to meet the press on
Sunday morning, so he's going to do media. It must
have really been very brief then for him for him
to come up out of nowhere during his work and
then pass away suddenly. So what is going to happen next?
With the US Senate seat in South Carolina? It is
the senior Senate seat with Tim Scott now being the
senior Senator, but that seat being vacant. Graham has held
(04:22):
the seat since twenty twelve. What will happen is there
will be an appointment for the rest of Graham's term.
That will be done by outgoing Governor Henry McMaster. So
the governor will appoint somebody to fill out Graham's term
from I guess July whenever till just hill January. There
(04:44):
will be a special election to fill the place of
Graham on the ballot. Remember, Graham just won this reelection,
so he should his name would be on the ballot
in November. Obviously won't because he passed away. So someone
will be running to replace Grandma on the ballad, and
then they will felt the full six year term starting
in January whatever date they get sworn in. So the
(05:10):
first person to come out, which I think is a
little tasteless, I mean, the man just died, like just
passed away. Joe Wilson, some of a senior congressman from
South Carolina. He's been there for a very, very long time.
He's most famous for in the early two thousands screaming
(05:30):
you lied at Obama when it comes to health care
for illegal immigrants in Obamacare. I don't, I don't. He's
been there since two thousand and one. I just looked up,
so he's been there for twenty four years. I don't
think Joe Wilson was wrong for calling Obama saying Obama lied.
(05:51):
It was very shocking at the time because no one
had ever interrupted the president before. They respected the office
a little more. But that's all I can think Joe
Wilson has done in the last twenty five years. In
a quarter of a century, I remember that Joe Wilson
yelled once. Not an illustrious congressional career for the last
(06:14):
twenty five years. Anyway, Joe Wilson announced that he is
interested in taking over the seat and receiving the appointment
from Governor Henry McMasters, and Henry McMasters has floated that
Joe Wilson is probably going to get the special appointment
for the rest of the term. Once again, the man's
body isn't even cold yet. I just find it all
(06:36):
a little give it twenty four hours like in my opinion,
give it twenty four hours like this. The man we're
waking up to the news that he died, and all
of a sudden, can I have his office? A little strange.
My other issue with it is Joe Wilson is seventy
eight years old will be seventy nine years old later
(06:56):
this year. I don't think replacing a seventy one year
old with a seventy nine year old is the direction
America's looking to go into. No offense if you're seventy nine,
No offense if you're over seventy nine. But it's seventy
nine to be taking a six year term after we
(07:19):
have already seen Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, now Lindsey Graham,
all of these congressmen. That woman from Texas, remember when
she was living in a nursing home and she was
a member of Congress. All these people who stayed way
too long in these jobs got sixt year terms and
(07:40):
during the time something happened to their health. It's not
a guarantee, but at a certain point, I mean, I'll
say like this, at a certain point, does anyone in
your house miss you that you're gone this much? And
should you be running for sixty year terms at seventy
nine years old? There's some I listened. Chuck Rasseley's a
(08:01):
miracle and he's an amazing man to be in his
nineties and doing it as well as he's doing it.
But he is an anomaly, there was not many. Chuck
Rassley's I don't know Joe Wilson's health, but I would say,
Joe Wilson, give me a thirty minute conversation on AI
in the direction of AI in the future, and maybe
we'll have a conversation whether you should be in a
Congress or six years. Like, don't tell me about something
(08:23):
that happened twenty years ago, tell me something's going to
happen in twenty years from now. I have that issue.
Also complicating issue is that his adoptive son, it's his son,
but it's I think it's a son through marriage or something.
But his son is going to likely be the next
governor of South Carolina, so I could see him obviously campaigning.
(08:43):
So once the lieutenant so, once Henry McMaster's the incoming governor,
appoints a replacement, there will be a special election held
to replace him at the battle, which will include a
runoff election. I'm sure Trump will get involved in into
some sort and then that person will go on to
know November, South Carolina is a very red state, will
likely win, and then whoever wins that gets the full
(09:04):
six year term. Lindsay Graham was way too moderate for
the state of South Carolina. He did not represent those
people well as far as their policies that they vote for.
This is the state they voted for. Every county vote
for Donald Trump in twenty sixteen. And Lindsey Graham was
a man who demanded mass amnesty for illegal immigrants and
mass immigration nearly every year of his time in the Senate.
(09:27):
Lindsey Graham never reflected those interests at all in the
USN And he was charming and personal and funny, but
he was a warmonger, and he was terrible on big
issues that really affect Americans, and the people of South
Carolina did not care. Two conservatives. This would be a
moment now that he's passed away, and not that I've
wished for, and I hope you rush some peace, but
(09:48):
something This should be a moment where you say, Okay,
let's do better. If we're going to have another person
who may be there for ten, six to twenty four years,
let's do better. This is a real opportunity to do better.
And let's not do the old boys game, which has
not been working for the people of South Carolina in
terms of who represents them in Congress. Think about it,
(10:11):
Lindsey Graham, Rest in peace. I hope you are gone
to your eternal rest to meet your maker. And you are,
and the world, the world that you are in now
is better the world that you came from. So God
bless and guys, thank you so much for this mini episode.
If you like this podcast, because like and subscribe on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts,
(10:33):
and on YouTube. Thanks guys,
Welcome to a mini episode of a numbers game with
Ryan Gradowski. I had to just jump on and come
in a little bit about the passing of a Lindsay
Graham who suddenly and unexpectedly passed at the age of
seventy one. There was a call around I think one
o'clock in the morning or midnight last night, and they
were calling for cardiac arrest and Lindsay Graham was unresponsive
(00:22):
and sadly passed away. It was completely unexpected, as Lindsay
Graham was just in Ukraine I think forty eight hours
ago and he was expected to do meet the press
on Sunday morning, so no one expected it. The man's
been in office since nineteen ninety four, long, very elusius
might not be the correct word, but very well known career.
(00:44):
If you think of all the politicians who have been
around for thirty years and you could try to list
their accomplishments, Graham comes up very high as far as
people who made the most of their office. I from
the moment I got involved in Poppy copletely honest, everybody.
From the moment I got involved in politics around two
thousand and six, I couldn't stay on Lindsey Grant in
(01:08):
his politics. Obviously I didn't know the man, but his politics.
Couldn't stand them. Everything about GOP politics that I disliked
were encompassed in Lindsay Graham. And I remember in I
don't you remember when Trump was running the first time
and he read Lindsay Graham's phone number out loud like
(01:28):
it wasn't like the greatest moment ever anyway, that was
a total side note. So I remember in twenty eighteen,
twenty nineteen, Lindsay gram was the keynote speaker out of
dinner I was attending for the American Spectator and I
went with Chris Kobok to this dinner, and I remember
looking at Chris and saying, Chris, I am not clapping
for anything this man says. He is not winning me over.
(01:51):
I have spent thirty years at this point disliking this
man's politics. I am not or twenty something years disliking
this man's politics. I am not clapping for him. And Chris,
you know, because he's from like the Midwest, and he's
like a nice guy. He collapsed for everybody but Lindsey Graham.
I'm not gonna lie. I watched him speak, and then
I met him afterwards, very briefly, the only time I
(02:12):
ever met him, and I completely understood why he was
a US senator. He was funny, funny, funny, funny, funny
in a way that I did not expect him to
be at all charming, personable worked the room. It was
a room full of people who were probably angry at
Graham for not being even more anti Trump or not
(02:35):
being trying Trump. Was a very like moderate centrist, old
guard Republican room, and he at the time was causing
to Trump very quickly, and they were probably very angry
at that. So the fact that he won them over
on that and did not isolate people like me or
Chris or anybody like that, I was very, very very impressed,
(02:56):
and I completely got it in that moment where I
was like, Okay, I get it. I see the talent,
the unbelievable level of talent, And he was talented as
a as a as a as a politician, and as
a campaigner. The man just won every single county against
a very well funded primary challenger a couple of weeks ago.
(03:16):
I mean, that's nothing to sneeze that. So I hope
he rests in peace. It's seventy one is not old
in twenty twenty six in America. If you were listening
to this and you were in your early seventies, you
are not old, you know, unless you have some kind
of horrendous disease. Most seven year olds are very very active, energetic,
(03:38):
you know, useful hearts of the community, and they are
thriving in their early seventies. Is not like it was
a long time ago when I was growing up. So
seventy one is not old enough to die. His office
is setting saying he had a brief illness. Once again,
he was in Ukraine forty eight hours ago, so it
couldn't have been serious enough where he wasn't flying, and
(04:00):
he was supposed to fly to meet the press on
Sunday morning, so he's going to do media. It must
have really been very brief then for him for him
to come up out of nowhere during his work and
then pass away suddenly. So what is going to happen next?
With the US Senate seat in South Carolina? It is
the senior Senate seat with Tim Scott now being the
senior Senator, but that seat being vacant. Graham has held
(04:22):
the seat since twenty twelve. What will happen is there
will be an appointment for the rest of Graham's term.
That will be done by outgoing Governor Henry McMaster. So
the governor will appoint somebody to fill out Graham's term
from I guess July whenever till just hill January. There
(04:44):
will be a special election to fill the place of
Graham on the ballot. Remember, Graham just won this reelection,
so he should his name would be on the ballot
in November. Obviously won't because he passed away. So someone
will be running to replace Grandma on the ballad, and
then they will felt the full six year term starting
in January whatever date they get sworn in. So the
(05:10):
first person to come out, which I think is a
little tasteless, I mean, the man just died, like just
passed away. Joe Wilson, some of a senior congressman from
South Carolina. He's been there for a very, very long time.
He's most famous for in the early two thousands screaming
(05:30):
you lied at Obama when it comes to health care
for illegal immigrants in Obamacare. I don't, I don't. He's
been there since two thousand and one. I just looked up,
so he's been there for twenty four years. I don't
think Joe Wilson was wrong for calling Obama saying Obama lied.
(05:51):
It was very shocking at the time because no one
had ever interrupted the president before. They respected the office
a little more. But that's all I can think Joe
Wilson has done in the last twenty five years. In
a quarter of a century, I remember that Joe Wilson
yelled once. Not an illustrious congressional career for the last
(06:14):
twenty five years. Anyway, Joe Wilson announced that he is
interested in taking over the seat and receiving the appointment
from Governor Henry McMasters, and Henry McMasters has floated that
Joe Wilson is probably going to get the special appointment
for the rest of the term. Once again, the man's
body isn't even cold yet. I just find it all
(06:36):
a little give it twenty four hours like in my opinion,
give it twenty four hours like this. The man we're
waking up to the news that he died, and all
of a sudden, can I have his office? A little strange.
My other issue with it is Joe Wilson is seventy
eight years old will be seventy nine years old later
(06:56):
this year. I don't think replacing a seventy one year
old with a seventy nine year old is the direction
America's looking to go into. No offense if you're seventy nine,
No offense if you're over seventy nine. But it's seventy
nine to be taking a six year term after we
(07:19):
have already seen Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, now Lindsey Graham,
all of these congressmen. That woman from Texas, remember when
she was living in a nursing home and she was
a member of Congress. All these people who stayed way
too long in these jobs got sixt year terms and
(07:40):
during the time something happened to their health. It's not
a guarantee, but at a certain point, I mean, I'll
say like this, at a certain point, does anyone in
your house miss you that you're gone this much? And
should you be running for sixty year terms at seventy
nine years old? There's some I listened. Chuck Rasseley's a
(08:01):
miracle and he's an amazing man to be in his
nineties and doing it as well as he's doing it.
But he is an anomaly, there was not many. Chuck
Rassley's I don't know Joe Wilson's health, but I would say,
Joe Wilson, give me a thirty minute conversation on AI
in the direction of AI in the future, and maybe
we'll have a conversation whether you should be in a
Congress or six years. Like, don't tell me about something
(08:23):
that happened twenty years ago, tell me something's going to
happen in twenty years from now. I have that issue.
Also complicating issue is that his adoptive son, it's his son,
but it's I think it's a son through marriage or something.
But his son is going to likely be the next
governor of South Carolina, so I could see him obviously campaigning.
(08:43):
So once the lieutenant so, once Henry McMaster's the incoming governor,
appoints a replacement, there will be a special election held
to replace him at the battle, which will include a
runoff election. I'm sure Trump will get involved in into
some sort and then that person will go on to
know November, South Carolina is a very red state, will
likely win, and then whoever wins that gets the full
(09:04):
six year term. Lindsay Graham was way too moderate for
the state of South Carolina. He did not represent those
people well as far as their policies that they vote for.
This is the state they voted for. Every county vote
for Donald Trump in twenty sixteen. And Lindsey Graham was
a man who demanded mass amnesty for illegal immigrants and
mass immigration nearly every year of his time in the Senate.
(09:27):
Lindsey Graham never reflected those interests at all in the
USN And he was charming and personal and funny, but
he was a warmonger, and he was terrible on big
issues that really affect Americans, and the people of South
Carolina did not care. Two conservatives. This would be a
moment now that he's passed away, and not that I've
wished for, and I hope you rush some peace, but
(09:48):
something This should be a moment where you say, Okay,
let's do better. If we're going to have another person
who may be there for ten, six to twenty four years,
let's do better. This is a real opportunity to do better.
And let's not do the old boys game, which has
not been working for the people of South Carolina in
terms of who represents them in Congress. Think about it,
(10:11):
Lindsey Graham, Rest in peace. I hope you are gone
to your eternal rest to meet your maker. And you are,
and the world, the world that you are in now
is better the world that you came from. So God
bless and guys, thank you so much for this mini episode.
If you like this podcast, because like and subscribe on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts,
(10:33):
and on YouTube. Thanks guys,
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
Hosts And Creators
Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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