Trump addresses conspiracies about Lindsey Graham’s death in wild ramble: ‘I’m a believer in racehorse theory’
Donald Trump has weighed in on the conspiracy theories surrounding former Senator Lindsey Graham’s death.
The president espoused his belief in the controversial “racehorse theory” as he revealed his thoughts on Graham’s death. The so-called theory, which compares human genetics to horse breeding, has been slammed by critics.
Graham died suddenly on July 11 from a ruptured aorta shortly after returning from a trip to Ukraine, prompting wild speculation about what might have caused his death.
Trump lifted the lid on his beliefs while speaking on Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports last night, after the show’s eponymous host suggested that Graham had once called for Putin to be “taken out.”
“The Russians… They have a habit of poisoning people they don’t like,” Kelly said, before asking whether Americans have been told the full story about Graham’s death.
Trump directly addressed the conspiracy theory later in the interview, quipping that he would “love to say ‘yes’” to the idea that something untoward had gone on.
But he continued: “His father died just about at the same age from… you know, I’m a believer in the racehorse theory, you know. If you have problems, you have problems.”
Michael D’Antonio, a Trump biographer, described the racehorse theory as the belief “that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get superior offspring”. Critics have likened the belief to eugenics.
During the Newsmax interview, Trump also said that he believes Americans have been told the full story about Graham’s death and that “great doctors” had looked at the case.
“And they talked about, you know, a certain part of his body literally blew up,” the president said. “And, that’s a condition I believe his father had also. His father died very, very young from heart complications.”
The president went on to suggest that the problem was “hard to see” and also “hard to fix”.
“He had the problem with arteries. And, I thought he was like a 70 percent blockage,” Trump continued. “I said, ‘Lindsey, you’re gonna have to go and take care of that’.”
The president concluded, “But this was not that problem. This was a different problem that wasn’t really related.”
Initially, Graham’s office confirmed that the late senator died from a “brief and sudden illness.”
On Sunday, Graham’s office released a preliminary report from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia, which stated that he had died from an aortic rupture caused by hardened arteries.
During the Newsmax interview, Trump shared that he spoke to Graham after the latter’s return from Ukraine and shortly before his death. The president added that the late senator was a “worker” and a “great politician.”
Trump and Graham’s relationship changed greatly over the years, with the latter describing the former as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” during a 2015 CNN interview.
By 2018, when asked if Trump was a racist by the same network, Graham answered: “Absolutely not.”
Then, in 2025, Trump described Graham on Truth Social as a “wonderful friend” who has “always been there”.
