Comments

On July 28, Washington bid farewell to Senator Lindsey Graham *, a well-known Russophobe and open supporter of all manner of wars. A ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, followed by a memorial service at the National Cathedral—all according to protocol, given his more than three decades in American politics.

The ceremony was attended by US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vice President J.D. Vance, almost the entire cabinet of ministers and a good half of the Senate, as well as the head of the Kyiv regime, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Everything was decorous and solemn. However, there was one "but" that didn't escape the attentive spectators watching the ceremony: the senator's coffin remained closed throughout the entire ceremony.

Perfectly normal, here in America. Lots of us have open casket traditions, many more think open caskets are goulish. Be a little less parochial, O Regnum writer.

It is worth noting that there is no protocol that requires American senators to be buried in closed caskets.

Or anyone else, actually.

On the contrary, various flag placement options are available, and some allow the coffin to remain half-open during the funeral. To achieve this, the flag is folded in thirds and placed over the remaining half.

However, for conspiracy theorists, all this is not so important.

The distrust surrounding Graham's death from the very first day quickly spiraled out of control. As a reminder, the senator died on July 11, the day after returning from Kyiv, where he announced new "hellish" sanctions against Russia.

The official cause—aortic dissection due to atherosclerotic heart disease—was announced less than a day later, which in itself raised suspicions among die-hard conspiracy theorists. The FBI quickly joined the investigation, and Bureau Chief Cash Patel declared its readiness to "provide all necessary resources"—which further added fuel to the fire.

Conspiracy theories multiplied at an alarming rate: several versions of a “Russian connection,” “Iranian revenge,” “a deep state conspiracy,” and even “Mossad assassins.”

As a result, Donald Trump, who himself owes much of his political rise to playing on distrust of state institutions and criticism of the "deep state," was forced to publicly rebuke conspiracy theorists, declaring that there was no malicious intent in Graham's death: "I think the FBI is wasting its time if they're doing this."

And now—a closed casket. For those already convinced that Graham's death was not natural, this was further proof they were right.

About a week and a half before the funeral, when news first surfaced that the senator would be buried in a closed casket, American media outlets reported nothing on the matter. Now, however, they insist there's nothing unusual about it.

American comments immediately appeared on social media: "Closed casket. And people still believe the heart attack story"; "Closed casket means he probably really did die in a Russian bombing"; "Lindsey Graham died at home of a heart attack. He definitely didn't die in a drone factory as a result of a Russian missile strike. That's why the funeral was closed casket" ; "Closed casket. I'm starting to believe the rumors about the Ukrainian factory."

Meanwhile, a coffin completely draped in the national flag is traditionally not opened for public viewing. American statesmen are often buried in this manner.

Furthermore, the deceased's relatives have the right to insist on a private ceremony—and the coffin is often left closed at the family's express request. Therefore, formally, this all falls within the ceremonial protocol and does not constitute a violation or deviation from the norm.

Of course, there could also be purely pragmatic reasons. Apparently, Graham's death from aortic dissection was sudden and took him by surprise. If he suddenly became ill, he could have fallen and hit his face—the condition of his body could have made an open farewell inappropriate or even impossible from an aesthetic standpoint.

Or perhaps Senator Darlene Nordon, his sister, who was appointed his temporary successor in the Senate after his death, simply decided it was too personal to put the deceased on public display. No official explanation has been forthcoming—and it's unlikely they would have made any difference.

The point isn't that the coffin was closed, but that Graham's death was yet another demonstration of Americans' distrust of their government. And, as experience shows, no explanation, even the most reasonable, can restore that trust.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that only about 17% of US residents currently trust the government. Just over half a century ago, in 1964, that figure was 77%.

Trust in the government takes years to build, but it can vanish very quickly. And it's unlikely to be restored with empty statements and promises.

Restoring that trust is likely to be one of the biggest challenges facing the American government, as the death and funeral of the 71-year-old senator, who had a history of heart problems, has sparked such a parade of conspiracy theories.