4 Rumors About Lindsey Graham We Can't Ignore

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Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is no stranger to controversy. Over the years, Graham has garnered a reputation as a wishy-washy flip-flopper with a devout allegiance to no one but himself. "He is the odd character that is equally disliked by both sides of the aisle," attorney and South Carolina Senate hopeful Paul Dans told Vanity Fair in August 2025 about his opponent, Graham. But that's not all. Even President Barack Obama weighed in on Graham's character — or perhaps lack thereof, in this case — in the confines of his 2020 memoir. "Lindsey's the guy who double-crosses everyone to save his own skin," Obama declared (via Mother Jones).

Alas, Graham's reputation for being flaky and self-absorbed is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the gossip surrounding the career politician. As it turns out, Graham has been the subject of quite a few scandalous rumors over the years that we simply cannot ignore.

Perhaps the juiciest rumor Lindsey Graham has tried to deny but won't go away relates to his sexuality and what people don't know about his love life. Over the years, the Republican South Carolina senator, who has never married, has vehemently refuted claims that he is gay. "I know it's really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I'm sure hundreds of 'em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge — but I ain't available. I ain't gay. Sorry," he declared during an interview with the New York Times in 2010. 

As you may recall, back in October 2018, comedian Chelsea Handler took to X to call out Graham. "If you're wondering why Republicans took a sick day today, it's probably because it's #NationalComingOutDay. Looking at you @LindseyGrahamSC," she posted. Then, in 2024, far-right activist Laura Loomer also fired out a tweet about Graham, all in an effort to out the senator. "When is Lindsey coming out of the closet? We all know you're gay, Lindsey ... and that's ok," she said on X (via Advocate).

On March 16, 2022, Axios published excerpts from a yet-to-be-released book titled "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," wherein the authors, New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, claimed that in the midst of the chaos during the violent United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, Lindsey Graham uncharacteristically broke from his devout allegiance to Trump and issued him an ultimatum. Either Trump could categorically condemn the rioters, or Graham would be asking for the 25th Amendment. This loophole would allow the vice president to assume presidential duties in the event that the president was believed to be unfit by both the vice president and most of the cabinet.

It should be noted, however, that one day later, on January 7, 2021, Graham appeared to be singing a much different tune when he told reporters during a press conference that he did not believe using the 25th Amendment was appropriate. "I don't support invoking the 25th Amendment now. If something else happens, all options would be on the table," Graham told the gaggle of reporters (via Fox News). "I do not believe it's appropriate at this point. We're looking for a peaceful transfer of power," he added. Hmm ... the world may never know. 

Did Lindsey Graham really throw a hissy fit in Munich? The story goes that on February 14 — Valentine's Day, no less — Graham became grossly irate during a meeting with Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and other senators, launching into an expletive-filled tirade, essentially declaring that Greenland was President Donald Trump's for the taking. "Picture Graham on his worst TV day," a source told Puck. 

Sadly, Graham's F-bombs were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his very anti-diplomatic outburst. The Danish newspaper Berlingske reported that Graham also got nasty with dignitaries Frederiksen and Nielsen, "sneering" at Frederiksen as he called her "little lady" and deliberately yawning in Nielsen's face. When Scripps News reached out to Graham's camp regarding his alleged behavior in Munich, a spokesperson declined to comment.

Lindsey Graham has never shied away from discussing his affinity for alcohol. In the confines of his e-book memoir, "My Story," Graham recalled fond memories of working at his parents' bar during his formative years and learning to sneak sips of patrons' beers when they went to the restroom, which rightfully earned him the nickname "Stinkball" (via Politico). And in 2015, while running for president, he declared during a Republican presidential debate that if elected, America was going to start drinking more. Uh, cheers?

Alas, some have alleged that the Republican South Carolina senator does more than just sip his alcohol. "Invite him to dinner, and you don't know if he'll sit down for an intelligent conversation or get drunk and vomit in the fish tank. But that's why I like him," Senator John Kennedy claimed in his 2025 book, "How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will." 

It was Graham's seemingly inebriated behavior during a press conference in Charleston, South Carolina, that really got people talking. "Drunk as [a] skunk!" one Facebook user commented on an interview with The Carolina Courier, wherein the senator looked noticeably glassy-eyed and flushed. Meanwhile, another wrote, "Totally on the sauce!"