Comedian Margaret Cho mocks Lindsey Graham’s death, wishes McConnell next

Comedian and actress Margaret Cho mocked the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham over the weekend in a social media video that also appeared to wish for the deaths of Senate Minority Whip Mitch McConnell and, without naming him directly, President Trump.

Mr. Graham died Saturday evening at age 71 following what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness.” His death came hours after he returned from a trip to Ukraine, where he had met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A preliminary finding from the District of Columbia medical examiner attributed the cause of death to an aortic dissection tied to cardiovascular disease. 

In a video posted to social media Sunday, Ms. Cho referenced longstanding rumors that Mr. Graham was gay and invoked Mr. McConnell, saying, “From the closet to the coffin, real seamless. So it’s Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham … it does happen in threes. Hope.”

The post also carried hashtags widely understood as anti-Trump. Mr. McConnell, who has been hospitalized for weeks, was not deceased; on the same day, he shared a proof-of-life message from his hospital bed, writing that he still has “unfinished business to complete” after recovering from a fall.

Comedian and actor Michael Ian Black also weighed in, casting Mr. Graham’s legacy as one of “parasitic fealty” in a lengthier essay accusing the late senator of abandoning his principles to align himself first with the late Sen. John McCain and later with Mr. Trump. Actor Ethan Embry, in a separate post, dismissed calls to tone down the reaction, writing, “there’s still 51 of em walking around,” an apparent reference to the number of Republican senators.

The remarks drew sharp criticism from conservatives and stood in contrast to tributes from across the political spectrum, including from Mr. Trump, who called Mr. Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators” he had known, and from Mr. Zelenskyy, who praised his support for Ukraine.