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PCIntern

(28,891 posts)
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:28 AM 22 hrs ago

"Brief and sudden illness"???

It sure must have been brief, because he was scheduled to be on MTP this morning.

Another “interesting” senatorial scenario…

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but”…

Nah, I don’t want to say anything inappropriate at this time, it’d be utterly tasteless. And crass.

Nope, I’m taking the High Road….for now.

84 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"Brief and sudden illness"??? (Original Post) PCIntern 22 hrs ago OP
Recommended. H2O Man 22 hrs ago #1
The weather's fine there durablend 22 hrs ago #3
"But it's a dry heat" Conjuay 17 hrs ago #54
He's definitely not ok. Omnipresent 18 hrs ago #35
Respectfully disagree. H2O Man 11 hrs ago #82
No Omnipresent 5 hrs ago #83
Yes. H2O Man 3 hrs ago #84
I hope he has a very nice funeral. displacedvermoter 18 hrs ago #40
For a funeral JPK 16 hrs ago #62
But we already know where all roads lead Lifeafter70 22 hrs ago #2
Yea but 71 year old men just up and die all the time. Lets not get carried away. FascismIsDeath 21 hrs ago #4
You're absolutely right... PCIntern 21 hrs ago #5
It depends on what caused the heart attack, if that is even what happened. FascismIsDeath 21 hrs ago #11
There'd be symptoms of pneumonia... PCIntern 21 hrs ago #12
Explosive diarrhea? The Madcap 16 hrs ago #63
I normally analyze language and word usage PCIntern 16 hrs ago #67
Sure, could be completely innocent, but given where it happened in the world, paulkienitz 20 hrs ago #13
You are right. Heart attack or a stroke is not a sudden illness. So why be so secretive? Katinfl 18 hrs ago #37
Assuming soulless Lindsey had a heart,, agingdem 18 hrs ago #41
Maybe he had the same brief and sudden illness liberalgunwilltravel 20 hrs ago #19
You have a good memory for salacious 1970s political trivia. John1956PA 19 hrs ago #21
Happy wasn't so Happy after the event PCIntern 18 hrs ago #38
This message was self-deleted by its author liberalgunwilltravel 18 hrs ago #45
Megan Marshack was the lady who made Happy displacedvermoter 18 hrs ago #46
What can I say? liberalgunwilltravel 17 hrs ago #58
.... wolfie001 18 hrs ago #33
Yep. Had a very healthy friend who suffered a brain aneurism while shopping. She allegorical oracle 19 hrs ago #26
Lindsay had already lingered for too long. Bumbles 18 hrs ago #29
You're right. And we no nothing about his health. Buckeyeblue 16 hrs ago #65
Check out how he looked recently LeftInTX 21 hrs ago #6
"Brief & sudden illness" vs. an "event" like a heart attack ? CincyDem 21 hrs ago #7
Exactly. PCIntern 21 hrs ago #9
No RandySF 21 hrs ago #10
Could also be a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis. pnwmom 20 hrs ago #14
I was thinking the same thing videohead5 20 hrs ago #16
Ding! Ding! Ding! Roy Rolling 20 hrs ago #17
I know someone who died of that.. ananda 20 hrs ago #18
I remember that young NBC reporter, David Bloom, who was traveling with the troops in Iraq wolfie001 18 hrs ago #32
There is a very common genetic variation that increases the risk of a DVT pnwmom 13 hrs ago #73
Are we thinking poison? GPV 20 hrs ago #15
I'm not. I doubt many are. onenote 17 hrs ago #47
Cardiac arrest is certainly a sudden medical event JMCKUSICK 19 hrs ago #22
Odd choice of words, indeed.......................... Lovie777 19 hrs ago #27
The reporting is RandySF 21 hrs ago #8
ETTD. Coincidentally he just met with Zelensky and announced sanctions on Russia. lostnfound 20 hrs ago #20
I've been sleeping... Trueblue Texan 19 hrs ago #23
......... wolfie001 18 hrs ago #31
Truly a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!! Trueblue Texan 17 hrs ago #53
Yep! Zero sympathy from me wolfie001 15 hrs ago #70
OMFG!!!!! Lindsay Graham CROAKED?!!! Trueblue Texan 19 hrs ago #24
I had to do it............. twodogsbarking 19 hrs ago #25
He just came back from Ukraine - 20 hours on a plane - blood clot? Vinca 19 hrs ago #28
This was my thought Boo1 18 hrs ago #42
Blood clot could cause cardiac arrest. LisaL 16 hrs ago #64
russki operative wolfie001 18 hrs ago #30
i would love a look inside that box rampartd 18 hrs ago #44
What if JPK 16 hrs ago #68
I think he drank himself to death. NCDem47 18 hrs ago #34
I can't handle too much alcohol now, and I'm only 63 MrsCheaplaugh 17 hrs ago #49
I know. I'm 79 and I can't get through that fourth Manhattan anymore. tavernier 15 hrs ago #71
Getting old beats the alternative. The Wizard 12 hrs ago #79
Stress at the top bucolic_frolic 18 hrs ago #36
Journalese for "Heart Attack." Kid Berwyn 18 hrs ago #39
ok. i'm out of the gutter. for now rampartd 18 hrs ago #43
No meet the press today, just meet your maker. GreenWave 17 hrs ago #48
"sudden illness" has long been a PR euphemism for things like heart attack and stroke Sympthsical 17 hrs ago #50
Wham Bam thank you Graham Blue Owl 17 hrs ago #51
Poppers while dancing? flying_wahini 17 hrs ago #52
🤣😂 👊 Possibly. We'll never know... not that I'd want to know for sure. QueerDuck 17 hrs ago #57
Me, too. However, when the inevidable finally takes TACO, all bets are off. marble falls 17 hrs ago #55
Me, too. However, when the inevidable finally takes TACO, all bets are off. marble falls 17 hrs ago #56
Maybe we should say, "Well done, Ukraine"? sinkingfeeling 17 hrs ago #59
Well damn dweller 16 hrs ago #60
I'm sorry he didn't suffer longer EnergizedLib 16 hrs ago #61
Red-state, southern diet did him in? He looked rather bloated last time I saw his ugly mug on tv. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist 16 hrs ago #66
If it was a heart attack Mz Pip 15 hrs ago #69
They don't have an official cause of death. LeftInTX 13 hrs ago #75
Fair enough Mz Pip 12 hrs ago #80
If it's sudden, it's not brief Grim Chieftain 15 hrs ago #72
Sounds like a heart attack LeftInTX 13 hrs ago #74
I hadn't heard the "chest pains" PCIntern 12 hrs ago #76
His press people were probably rushed and wording wasn't the best LeftInTX 12 hrs ago #77
Pulmonary embolisms and aortal aneurisms are both very sudden... 50 Shades Of Blue 12 hrs ago #78
Well that "Illness was sudden and very brief" but long lasting. republianmushroom 12 hrs ago #81

FascismIsDeath

(335 posts)
4. Yea but 71 year old men just up and die all the time. Lets not get carried away.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:40 AM
21 hrs ago

This was unexpected for sure but not unrealistic at all.

PCIntern

(28,891 posts)
5. You're absolutely right...
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:44 AM
21 hrs ago

And please let me add that that can also be said in Russia with the epidemic there of defenestrations and poisonings.

But all jokes aside that’s true. I just wouldn’t classify a heart attack or stroke as an illness. But that’s me.

FascismIsDeath

(335 posts)
11. It depends on what caused the heart attack, if that is even what happened.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:01 AM
21 hrs ago

But it could be as simple as pneumonia or something like that.

PCIntern

(28,891 posts)
12. There'd be symptoms of pneumonia...
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:22 AM
21 hrs ago

There’s either a lot more to this story or nothing at all.

The Madcap

(2,253 posts)
63. Explosive diarrhea?
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:07 AM
16 hrs ago

Seems to be in the news a lot lately.

I thought "illness" was a strange choice, but I don't doubt the cardiac arrest angle, especially after a long flight and likely poor sleep.

PCIntern

(28,891 posts)
67. I normally analyze language and word usage
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:29 AM
16 hrs ago

But many individuals are not aware of the distinction among descriptors so whoever composed the press release may have done so, unknowingly confusing illness with episode or condition.

It may well have been a blood clot. The exact same thing happened to the wife of a patient of mine who flew back from Israel. She dropped dead two days later, never having been sick.

paulkienitz

(1,571 posts)
13. Sure, could be completely innocent, but given where it happened in the world,
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:36 AM
20 hrs ago

and the abruptness of it, conspiracy ideas are gonna be inevitable.

Katinfl

(959 posts)
37. You are right. Heart attack or a stroke is not a sudden illness. So why be so secretive?
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:56 AM
18 hrs ago

be straightforward with the cause of death and end the speculation.

agingdem

(9,077 posts)
41. Assuming soulless Lindsey had a heart,,
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 08:07 AM
18 hrs ago

and unless he had an undisclosed history of coronary heart disease, reprehensible Lindsey died of a sudden heart attack..the cause is irrelevant because Trump’s ass-kissing toady is still dead..thoughts and prayers!

liberalgunwilltravel

(1,335 posts)
19. Maybe he had the same brief and sudden illness
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 06:15 AM
20 hrs ago

As Nelson Rockefeller. Except instead of a 25 year old woman …

Response to John1956PA (Reply #21)

displacedvermoter

(5,297 posts)
46. Megan Marshack was the lady who made Happy
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 08:36 AM
18 hrs ago

unhappy. Covered up nicely, but the story still brings out a nasty chuckle from fans of "salacious 1970s political trivia", which I admit, I too enjoy...

liberalgunwilltravel

(1,335 posts)
58. What can I say?
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 09:31 AM
17 hrs ago

I’m old. Also a native of NY State and the beneficiary of the SUNY system that Rockefeller started. Pat Moynihan and Jacob Javits were the Senators I grew up with. Back when there were still honorable Republicans. And in today’s world, Nelson would be considered a Social Democrat, except for his misguided views on recreational drugs.

allegorical oracle

(6,763 posts)
26. Yep. Had a very healthy friend who suffered a brain aneurism while shopping. She
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:27 AM
19 hrs ago

was in her 60s and died in surgery when surgeons couldn't staunch the resultant brain hemorrhage. Overall, sudden may be a kinder way to go than lingering for years.

Buckeyeblue

(6,529 posts)
65. You're right. And we no nothing about his health.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:19 AM
16 hrs ago

Maybe he had some heart issues or something else. I don't know if he exercised. He looked like a drinker.

LeftInTX

(35,248 posts)
6. Check out how he looked recently
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:45 AM
21 hrs ago

Congestive Heart Failure?

Although it's not brief and sudden, he may have had it. People can have it for decades, but maybe it caused his cardiac arrest last night?

CincyDem

(7,467 posts)
7. "Brief & sudden illness" vs. an "event" like a heart attack ?
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:53 AM
21 hrs ago

A serious question for the medical types around the board...what's the difference. Not looking for conspiracies or anything but it just seems like a difference without distinction.

Is there some political reason its better (if that's possible) to die of a brief and sudden illness that to announce that he died of a heart attack of a cardiac arrest?

pnwmom

(110,358 posts)
14. Could also be a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:43 AM
20 hrs ago

Everyone knows what a heart attack is, but fewer people know about DVTs and P.E's, which can happen after long plane flights. And a P.E. can damage the heart or cause a stroke.

They might not know exactly how he died unless they do an autopsy.

videohead5

(3,055 posts)
16. I was thinking the same thing
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:53 AM
20 hrs ago

He was just on a very long airplane ride. It's pretty easy to put two and two together.

Roy Rolling

(7,774 posts)
17. Ding! Ding! Ding!
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:53 AM
20 hrs ago

We have a winner!

Just returning from a long flight is the key. A pulmonary embolism checks all the boxes. Not a shockable rhythm, it’s why he needed immediate transport.

I think, technically, a pulmonary embolism’s symptoms are nearly identical to a “cardiac arrest”. Defibrillator usually detects the difference in electrical rhythm. (From a retired EMT)

ananda

(35,954 posts)
18. I know someone who died of that..
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 05:58 AM
20 hrs ago

and never knew she had it.

It was sudden and unexpected.

wolfie001

(8,311 posts)
32. I remember that young NBC reporter, David Bloom, who was traveling with the troops in Iraq
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:45 AM
18 hrs ago

He seemed in shape but not "combat-ready". All of the sudden the body is in stressful situations. Sad.

pnwmom

(110,358 posts)
73. There is a very common genetic variation that increases the risk of a DVT
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:15 PM
13 hrs ago

and most people don't know they're at risk till they've had their first. It wouldn't matter how combat ready they were if they had the gene.

JMCKUSICK

(6,997 posts)
22. Cardiac arrest is certainly a sudden medical event
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 06:50 AM
19 hrs ago

I know there are many of us who happen to have had symptoms that we heeded which made us long term medical issue sufferers rather than sudden medical event victims if you will.

There are many people who never have a sign before the Big One.

RandySF

(88,665 posts)
8. The reporting is
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 04:56 AM
21 hrs ago

that DC Emergency Services desponded to a cardiac “event” at his house on Capitol Hill. I don’t know if he died or at the hospital.

lostnfound

(17,725 posts)
20. ETTD. Coincidentally he just met with Zelensky and announced sanctions on Russia.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 06:30 AM
20 hrs ago

i think it was probably just a heart attack. Years of stress from selling his soul and from travel.

One never knows however.

Vinca

(54,644 posts)
28. He just came back from Ukraine - 20 hours on a plane - blood clot?
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:35 AM
19 hrs ago

Conspiracy me can't help but think now is the time for Russia to poison Ukraine supporters in this country. Our intelligence and federal law enforcement (excluding ICE) has been gutted.

Boo1

(781 posts)
42. This was my thought
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 08:21 AM
18 hrs ago

DVT after extended plane ride.

But just a thought, could be anything.

JPK

(1,030 posts)
68. What if
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:33 AM
16 hrs ago

Some golfer shanks a ball and it lands on her grave? Does he get a drop or does he have to play it from where the ball landed?

NCDem47

(3,577 posts)
34. I think he drank himself to death.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:50 AM
18 hrs ago

You saw it in his television appearnaces and odd behavior

I've seen it up close and personal. The body can only take so much abuse.



MrsCheaplaugh

(295 posts)
49. I can't handle too much alcohol now, and I'm only 63
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 09:02 AM
17 hrs ago

For a 71 year old man who's out of shape, heavy drinking is deadly.

tavernier

(14,600 posts)
71. I know. I'm 79 and I can't get through that fourth Manhattan anymore.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 11:21 AM
15 hrs ago

Have to switch to wine. But the docs say women should stop at one wine so that has to be the nightcap. It’s a bitch getting old.

bucolic_frolic

(56,511 posts)
36. Stress at the top
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 07:55 AM
18 hrs ago

The wars, the temperatures of global warming, the anger and scheming, the paranoia, the travel, the infighting, the greed.

This is not a relaxed and tolerant space, and no one is getting any younger.

He rose high in life and deserves the respect of office, I suppose. But to me he was just misguided.

Kid Berwyn

(25,700 posts)
39. Journalese for "Heart Attack."
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 08:04 AM
18 hrs ago

“Extended Illness” is cancer.

Simplifies pathology to save time for readers.

Sympthsical

(11,376 posts)
50. "sudden illness" has long been a PR euphemism for things like heart attack and stroke
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 09:13 AM
17 hrs ago

Either the family wants privacy, or they're not definitively sure what caused the death yet and just want to get a notification out there.

Another common acute illness included in this verbiage is pneumonia. Sepsis, too.

Sudden illness is generally just a euphemism for unexpectedly. Usually to signal they weren't secretly suffering from some undisclosed issue. Like sometimes how an actor or whomever has cancer that's been kept from the public (i.e. when Alan Rickman died).

Edit: Dying suddenly at 71 isn't a crazy event. As the other poster noted, he just returned from a long trip. Maybe DVT.

QueerDuck

(2,502 posts)
57. 🤣😂 👊 Possibly. We'll never know... not that I'd want to know for sure.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 09:25 AM
17 hrs ago

I suspect that in the end, more truths will come out. All the things that LG wanted to keep secret (whatever they may have been) and all the things that his handlers and blackmailers were using against him to keep him in control and make sure that he toed the line. It will be interesting to see how this develops and how long it takes for the truth to bubble up to the top of the LG cesspool of lies.

RedWhiteBlueIsRacist

(2,483 posts)
66. Red-state, southern diet did him in? He looked rather bloated last time I saw his ugly mug on tv.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:26 AM
16 hrs ago

Mz Pip

(28,560 posts)
69. If it was a heart attack
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 10:38 AM
15 hrs ago

why not just say so? No one would be surprised.

I just find this wording odd. It’s the kind of wording that leads to speculation and conspiracy theories.

LeftInTX

(35,248 posts)
75. They don't have an official cause of death.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:30 PM
13 hrs ago

He came home from Ukraine hours earlier
Spoke with Trump on the phone
Told Trump his was tired
Called EMS for chest pain around 8:30 pm


Emergency medical services received a call around 8:30 p.m. Saturday for a person with chest pains at a Capitol Hill home owned by Graham, according to the audio. About 25 minutes later, emergency personnel said that CPR was in progress and that a man at the house was suffering from cardiac arrest.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/12/lindsey-graham-longtime-south-carolina-senator-dies-71/

The blurb after his death was a press release from his staff.
I never read much into those things.

They are just meant to tell the public that someone
1 died
2 died of natural causes
3 wasn't running around sick.

Was brief illness a bad choice of words? Did he have some other health issues? Maybe.
But he just got home from Ukraine, so this brief illness was very brief. Other words, "Died unexpectly from natural causes", "Died unexpectedly after experiencing chest pain". His press people may not have had all the details. It's hard to get the right wording, when you're dealing with an emergency situation. People are not the best wordsmiths when they're dealing with emergencies. I hear poor wording from law enforcement frequently, then it gets refined.

Mz Pip

(28,560 posts)
80. Fair enough
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 02:13 PM
12 hrs ago

I guess with all of the speculation around McConnell’s hospitalization, it’s hard not to be a bit suspicious.

Though, I just read that Kash Patel said an investigation is underway.

Grim Chieftain

(2,430 posts)
72. If it's sudden, it's not brief
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 11:27 AM
15 hrs ago

Do these idiots even understand common definitions? You just can't fix stupid.

LeftInTX

(35,248 posts)
74. Sounds like a heart attack
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:26 PM
13 hrs ago

Graham died hours after returning from a trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The senator had been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Washington.

Emergency medical services received a call around 8:30 p.m. Saturday for a person with chest pains at a Capitol Hill home owned by Graham, according to the audio. About 25 minutes later, emergency personnel said that CPR was in progress and that a man at the house was suffering from cardiac arrest.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/12/lindsey-graham-longtime-south-carolina-senator-dies-71/

LeftInTX

(35,248 posts)
77. His press people were probably rushed and wording wasn't the best
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:42 PM
12 hrs ago

I see this alot. They are trying to convey death, natural causes, but they fumbled a bit on the natural causes thing. Maybe they wanted to convey that he didn't have a chronic illness and called it brief, leading people to believe he had a weeks long illness or something.

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