Rest in Power, Uncle Lindsey: A True Neocon in a World of Weakness
Lindsey Graham, the U.S. Senator from South Carolina, died suddenly on July 11, 2026.
When I first heard the news, I was taken aback—and frankly, really sad. I haven’t followed his career for very long, but I became an admirer when I saw how firmly he stood up for the Iranian people. He was one of the few politicians who truly understood the horror of the Islamic regime and its brutal treatment of Iranians. He spoke highly of Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince, whom the majority of anti-regime Iranians have chosen as the leader of their revolution.
For a high-ranking American official to recognize someone like Reza Pahlavi was a breath of fresh air. It made the Iranian people feel seen and heard. They truly loved Graham and affectionately called him “Uncle Lindsey.” There’s an iconic image of him holding up the Lion and Sun flag at the Global Day of Freedom, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Iranians desperate for a free Iran.
A True Neocon: Peace Through Strength
The Senator was what you would call a true neocon. He believed in confronting terror with strength—peace through strength, as some have dubbed it.
I understand the criticism of this worldview, especially in a post-Iraq world. But I believe much of America—on both the Right and the Left—came away from that war, which devolved into a quagmire, with entirely the wrong lesson. Some now preach strict non-intervention as the answer. In my opinion, that stance conflicts with reality. Just because you choose not to act doesn’t mean the enemies of the West will sit idle. They will fill any void an isolationist America leaves behind. It’s a luxury belief held by those who benefit from America’s current superpower status. In truth, it puts America—and the broader West—at greater risk.
The real lesson from Iraq is that precision intervention can and should be used when necessary to safeguard American interests. Hostile forces around the world are foaming at the mouth to fracture and destroy U.S. superpower status. I believe that would be catastrophic for the world. The last thing we need is for China, Russia, or the myriad of terrorist groups to gain a monopoly on power and enforce their will globally.
A clear example is the Islamic regime’s attempts to control international waters. It has been—and should remain—America that guarantees safe passage for international shipping. That’s one of the key reasons the West has prospered since World War II.
Lindsey Graham believed this passionately. He was a hawk on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He understood something many seem to have forgotten: Russia is an enemy of the West and of America. The Kremlin is well known for sowing division and chaos, exploiting cultural cracks through bot farms and influence campaigns.
He was equally hawkish on Iran. He grasped the destabilizing nature of the Islamic regime—not just in the Middle East, but across the globe. He knew the regime had declared war on America 47 years ago: a death-cult entity that routinely executes dissidents as enemies of the state and “enemies of god.”
Any “god” that demands such barbarity doesn’t deserve the capital G, in my view.
Standing Firm in Trump’s Corner
Having someone like Graham in Trump’s corner—clear-eyed and resolute—was a balm for those of us who worry the President is sometimes surrounded by people with a childish, naive understanding of the world. People who fail to grasp that some ideologies cannot be reasoned with—they can only be defeated. Something JD Vance may have learned in his interactions with the Islamic regime. Hopefully.
But I doubt it.
People like the Senator were often accused of “loving war,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
He loved the idea of destroying those who hate life, hate America, and seek to impose their will through terror. And you know what? I can respect that. In an age when hostile forces across the globe are rearing their heads, we need more people like him.
Not long after thousands of Iranians were massacred in the streets for protesting, many of us waited anxiously to see if America would answer their desperate cry for help. I, like countless others, posted constantly, pleading for Donald Trump to act—to support a people held hostage by this anti-human regime.
In that emotionally tumultuous time, when the President seemed to oscillate between action and hesitation, Lindsey Graham was a rock. Millions of Iranians (and I) clung to him for sanity.
He kept affirming that Trump would act. He went on television and called the President “Reagan Plus”—a nod to Ronald Reagan’s hawkish foreign policy. He said these things without undermining Trump. It was clear he was gently urging him toward helping the Iranian people and delivering long-overdue justice to the Islamic regime.
He brought us hope in that dark time.
It’s one thing for millions to tweet at the President. It hit differently when Lindsey Graham posted a picture of himself and Trump after a round of golf, captioned with “Reagan Plus.”
I’ll admit that after the war began, things grew less certain. The unwelcome ceasefire and the even more unwelcome MOU negotiated by the Vice President created doubts. There was pushback—even from me—when Graham seemed to support the MOU. But it later became clear he was walking a fine line: showing loyalty to the President while relying on his endorsement.
Trump is not someone you openly defy. Even so, Graham often still spoke his mind, navigating the political realities with principle.
He also stood firm in support of Ukraine against Russian aggression, even when it was unpopular in this administration. His last recorded video showed him pushing a bill in support of Ukraine. He held to his principles until the very end.
The Ugly Reaction from the Left
When news of his passing broke, I knew some prominent leftists would celebrate. I wasn’t wrong.
I was disgusted to see the likes of Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks lap up the moment. Hours after his death, Ana tweeted “Good riddance” and said she was “glad he was gone.” Cenk posted the usual braindead slop in the same venomous vein.
This angered me on a basic human level—much like the lunatics who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s tragic death. These are the same people who portray themselves as humanitarians, obsessed with “genocide” in Gaza, yet silent about the 40,000 Iranians butchered in the streets for demanding freedom.
It’s pure hypocrisy.
There is something sinister about people like Cenk and Ana. They consistently side with terrorism. Their hatred of Israel is so intense that they’ll back the most barbaric entities if they oppose Israel and America. Ana has posted “long live the resistance” and mocked Lebanon’s president for an MOU aimed at removing Hezbollah’s occupation—a terrorist proxy of the Islamic regime that dragged Lebanon into war at Tehran’s behest. Cenk recently supported a Senate candidate with a Nazi tattoo and a shady past—Graham Platner—until fresh rape allegations surfaced, all because Platner opposed Israel. Even then, he still claimed it was some kind of “false flag” by the “Israeli lobby”.
Yet we’re supposed to believe they care only about humanity and “Medicare for All.”
What’s more baffling is their constant railing against insider trading and politicians enriching themselves “off the backs of the American people.” Lindsey Graham served in the military and spent 31 years in Congress. His net worth at death was around $1.5 million. Compare that to Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, whose wealth reportedly ballooned from $27 million to over $230 million in just nine years.
Whether you agreed with Lindsey Graham or not, he was above reproach on personal integrity. A man who loved his work and did what he believed was best for America.
Ana and Cenk are horrible human beings.
Charlie Kirk once said, “You can tell a lot about people by how they react when someone dies.” That’s especially true when the deceased is a fellow citizen who served his country for more than half his life.
A Lasting Legacy
I wrote this piece to honour the Senator. I honour his steadfastness. I honour his service. I thank him for standing on the side of life—for supporting Israel, the Iranian people, and the Ukrainians.
His legacy will age like fine wine as time passes and good triumphs over evil.
Rest in Peace, Lindsey Graham.
May your memory be blessed.