Former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid criticized the media's response to the death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11, 2026, at the age of 71. On her podcast, "The Joy Reid Show," Reid stated that she would not participate in what she described as "fake encomiums" for the late senator.
"There is a thing that happens when people who are not good people, and who’ve done a lot of bad… the media reacts to them in a very specific sort of ‘f—ed up-ish’ kind of way, particularly when they’re conservatives," Reid said, according to reports from July 13, 2026. She added, "So I will not be bullied by the corporate media into doing fake encomiums. I cannot tell you how many anchors are on television saying, ‘The world is mourning the death of Lindsey Graham, the unexpected’ — Nope!"
Reid referenced Graham's political career, including his opposition to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022, characterizing him as "one of the most snide, mean, horrific interrogators of Black nominees" during his time on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She also noted Graham's initial opposition to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, quoting him as having said, “If we nominate Trump, we will be destroyed, and we will deserve it.”
However, Reid argued that Graham later supported Trump after his election, stating, "You sold your soul to the devil, and now you get to meet him in person.”
Graham's office announced his death early Sunday morning after what was described as a "brief and sudden" illness, later revealed to be a heart condition. He had served as a U.S. Senator for South Carolina since 2003 and was seeking a fifth term after winning the Republican primary the previous month.