Joy Reid Comments on Lindsey Graham’s Death

On her podcast Monday, former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid expressed her views on the recent death of former South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. She remarked, “Hell has opened its doors for at least one other person,” indicating her feelings toward his legacy.

Addressing Graham directly, Reid said he would be remembered as someone who betrayed friendships and his own country, emphasizing, “But at the end of the day, the only relationship you actually cared about was with Donald Trump. You sold your soul.” She further noted that this betrayal extended to his friends and even his heritage.

Reid dismissed the notion that mainstream media would celebrate Graham, labeling it “a messed up thing.” She observed, “What happens sometimes is when the media has a very specific kind of ‘terrible’ kind of response to people who are not good people and who have done a lot of bad things, especially conservatives… it was interesting to see the impact of Lindsey Graham’s sudden death.” She suggested Graham was not the type of Republican one might expect to be mourned.

In another part of her discussion, Reid stated, “So I won’t be bullied into doing a fake encomium by the corporate media.” She critiqued various media anchors who claimed, “‘The world is mourning the unexpected loss of Lindsey Graham’ — no!”

Reid also condemned Graham as “one of the most ruthless, mean and fearful interrogators of Black candidates,” particularly criticizing his behavior during his time on the Senate Judiciary Committee against Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022.

Updates on Lindsey Graham’s Death

Despite her sharp critiques, Reid conceded that Graham was “resourceful, intelligent, and smart enough to do better.” She referenced how he initially impeded Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign before supporting him later on, which Reid suggested was a pivotal mistake.

She recounted Graham’s earlier warnings about Trump, quoting him: “If we nominate Trump, we will be destroyed, and we deserve it.” Reid then declared, “Your entire legacy has already been destroyed. You destroyed it. You destroyed the party.”

Graham’s passing was announced by his office early Sunday. He was 71 years old and had reportedly succumbed to a “brief and sudden” illness later identified as heart disease. Graham had been serving in the Senate since 2003, having been first elected in 2002, and was aiming for a fifth term after winning his party’s primary the previous month.