Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host turned independent commentator, took aim at Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during a Wednesday broadcast of The Tucker Carlson Show, describing what he called the senator’s “strange psychosexual relationship to violence.” The remarks came amid growing criticism from within Graham’s own party over his continued advocacy for foreign wars while conditions in rural America deteriorate.
Carlson’s guest, Paul Dans, a Republican challenger seeking to unseat Graham in 2026, accused the longtime senator of prioritizing overseas conflicts over domestic decline. “Rural America is decaying, the industry moved out, and this is what we get,” Dans said. “We get a senator who’s obsessed with foreign war.” He pointed to Graham’s repeated visits to Ukraine, criticizing the senator for “spend[ing] three days in Washington and then run[ning] off to Kyiv… to hold hands with a foreign dictator who has suspended elections, who has imprisoned the opposition, who has shut down the press.”
Carlson responded with biting humor, mocking Graham’s frequent photo-ops with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “What about a weirdly hot foreign dictator in a tight-fitting military uniform or a tracksuit?” Carlson quipped. “I’m just saying, there are mitigating circumstances here.”
Dans replied, “Well look, I mean, his sexuality is his own thing. But if it’s based on kind of his psychosexual urge for violence, that’s a problem.”
Carlson quickly agreed, launching into an extended monologue about what he called a recurring pattern in political life. “It is! Let’s stop lying,” he said. “This is a very recognizable phenomenon that has reoccurred throughout history and it is tied up in your personal life. The way that you live reflects your values and affects your opinions on everything.”
He continued, “If you have children and grandchildren, you have by definition a vested interest in stability and peace. You’re instinctively opposed to violence… If you don’t have that, and if you’re about Grindr or whatever is going on here, then you’ve got a completely different set of values. I’m sorry, that’s true.”
Carlson titled the segment “Lindsey Graham’s Strange Psychosexual Relationship to Violence” on his social media accounts. On YouTube, the episode appeared under a similar headline: “It’s Time to Decide: America First or Lindsey Graham’s Psychosexual Death Cult?”
The exchange revived a long-circulating topic of speculation about Graham’s personal life. The South Carolina senator, 69, is a lifelong bachelor who has never married or had children, leading to years of unconfirmed rumors about his sexuality. While Graham has repeatedly dismissed such speculation, it has occasionally resurfaced among political operatives and conservative media figures.
In August, activist Laura Loomer claimed that “several of President Trump’s staff” had told her “in confidence that Lindsey Graham is gay.” Graham has denied the claim.
Carlson’s remarks mark the latest rift between America First conservatives and the establishment wing of the Republican Party, with figures like Graham increasingly viewed by the populist right as emblematic of a Washington elite more interested in foreign entanglements than in addressing America’s decline at home.
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