Zohran aide attempts light treason; Ro Khanna’s Mideast Misadventures; Remembering Lindsey Graham

Summary

10 Minute Drill: Episode Summary

Episode Title: Zohran aide attempts light treason; Ro Khanna’s Mideast Misadventures; Remembering Lindsey Graham
Date: July 13, 2026
Host: Matt Whitlock
Podcast: 10 Minute Drill

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Overview

This episode of "10 Minute Drill" opens with an in-depth tribute to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, recounts Representative Ro Khanna’s contentious trip to Israel and its political reverberations, and previews several fast-breaking political stories to watch during the upcoming week. Host Matt Whitlock shares both personal anecdotes and pointed political analysis, balancing somber reflection with fast-paced political breakdowns.

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In Memory of Senator Lindsey Graham

Early Reflections & Reactions

• (00:33) Matt Whitlock begins on a “somber note,” reporting on the “tragic and unexpected passing of United States Senator Lindsey Graham at 71,” reading the official statement from Graham’s office.
• Whitlock shares his own direct experience working with Graham:

  “I had the opportunity to work closely with Senator Graham, both in the Senate when I worked for Senator Hatch… but also when I was at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.” (01:02)

• He highlights how, at this moment, “people are sharing fond memories of some of Senator Graham’s greatest moments,” specifically recalling Graham’s fiery defense of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during the heated 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Graham’s Defining Senate Moment

• Whitlock plays several memorable Graham soundbites from the Kavanaugh hearings, including:

  “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that, not me.” (01:30, Graham)
  “When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said, oh, cause I voted for them. I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy.” (02:31, Graham)

• Whitlock contextualizes the moment as a transformative one:

  “People called it Lindsay 2.0. People hadn’t seen him reach that level of animosity before because he was such a sort of Southern gentleman, collegial guy.” (02:40)

Humanizing Graham

• Whitlock recounts having Senator Graham as a podcast guest in his “20 for 20” series, shifting focus briefly to lighter topics:

  “You’re a big movie guy.” (03:27, Whitlock)
  “Yeah, I love movies… couple hours in the dark, nobody’s bothering you… That’s why I like movies.” (03:30, Graham) “Heard you’re a big Monty Python fan.” (03:35, Whitlock)
  “Oh, yes, yes, yes. How do you know She’s a witch? Turned me into a nude. A newt. Got better.” (03:37, Graham, jokingly quoting Monty Python)

• Graham jokes about golfing with Trump:

  “I think when he gets 80, I’m gonna take him down.” (03:49, Graham)

• Whitlock dispels critics’ claims of Graham seeking “relevance” or “sucking up” to Trump:

  “That’s not ever what he was doing. He was creating a relationship with the President so that he could influence the President to serve his constituents… I don’t know if there’s anybody who actually a higher success level of bringing the President his direction on so many different issues.” (04:07)

Graham’s Legacy & Personal Story

• (05:00) President Trump’s heartfelt reaction plays:

  “He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually. It’s amazing.” (05:00, Trump)

• Whitlock shares details about Graham’s upbringing—growing up in the back of his family’s bar, losing both parents young, helping raise his sister Darlene, being the first in his family to go to college, joining the Air Force ROTC, serving 30 years in the JAG Corps, and then Congress:

  “Just a phenomenal person who has a great story to tell…He never got married, never had kids of his own, but…he helped raise her (Darlene) and the sacrifices that he made…” (05:14–06:00)

• Whitlock closes this segment by highlighting Graham as a “phenomenal bridge between the Senate conference and the administration,” and lauding his “coaching tree” of staff:

  “…huge loss for the Senate Republican Conference, prayers for Senator Graham’s family, but also the huge, incredible coaching tree of staff that have come through Senator Graham’s office…” (06:23)

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Ro Khanna’s Mideast Misadventures

The Incident and Political Fallout

• (06:30) Whitlock shifts to Representative Ro Khanna’s announcement about being “detained during a trip in Israel through these settlements,” where he alleges “settlers had violently detained him and brandished weapons…held him for 90 minutes.”
• Whitlock is skeptical, noting:

  “This incident got a ton of media immediately. Not super surprising because Rohana has had pretty inflamed rhetoric around Israel for a very, very long time. But in the fallout, he said things like this has made me think very seriously about running for president.” (07:52)

Transparency and Motives Questioned

• The co-host outlines how Khanna coordinated his trip “not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists,” ignoring embassy advice:

  “Perhaps if he would have coordinated the trip…to have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it on Saturday.” (07:52)

• Whitlock raises probing questions:

  “Why was a New York Times photographer and reporter embedded with him on this trip? Did he warn the local officials…? And…how it happened to perfectly align with his long term policy goals around Israel… The plan to turn this into a presidential announcement smells very fish[.]” (08:21)

• Whitlock explicitly points out Khanna’s motivation to “change the subject from his long term defense of Graham Platner, which is still going very poorly.”

Prior Controversy: The Graham Platner Endorsement

• (09:06) Guest commentator addresses Khanna’s past support for Graham Platner, now accused of abuse:

  “For me, the line always was sexual assault or sexual violence…we all need to see the signs earlier of people who may engage in domestic violence. Look, I wasn’t the only one…” (09:06)

• Whitlock corrects Khanna’s revisionism:

  “Ro Khanna, right after the New York Times story came out that highlighted very specific incidents of abuse from Graham Platner, he raced up to Maine to campaign for Platner and went on a full media tour downplaying the accusations…It’s not we all missed this, Ro. It’s that you papered over this and hoped that it wouldn’t rise to the level it did.” (09:24)
  “If I were Ro Khanna, I’d sit out a few plays.”

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The Zoran Mandami Aide “Light Treason” and Headlines For The Week

Headlines Preview (& Why They Matter)

• (09:50) Whitlock teases a trending New York City story:

  “A member of Zoran Mandami’s senior cabinet staff in his mayoral office scheduled a meeting with the Iranian ambassador. Something that is a huge, massive no, no and red flag.”

Texas Birth Tourism & Policy Implications

• A Texas hospital is advertising “discounted birth packages across the border in Mexico”—a scheme for birth tourism, especially following a Supreme Court decision.

  “This hospital is a tax exempt hospital under the 340B program, meaning our tax dollars are funding these adverts for birth tourism. This is a huge problem, a huge red flag.”

Other Stories to Watch

• Ongoing foreign influence in the fight against data centers, with a “huge day of action coming up” reminiscent of the “No Kings” rallies.
• The CFPB’s (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) impending “Open Banking Rule”—potentially allowing banks to charge fees on personal data access. Whitlock references the “Trump administration” and the “Jamie Dimon tax” as potential flashpoints, about which “the American Parents Coalition” is launching a campaign.

  “This is a rule that is likely coming this week, so we’ll be following it very closely.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Senator Graham at the Kavanaugh Hearings

  “God, I hope you never get it.” (01:57, Graham)

• On his relationship with President Trump

  “Everybody asked me, what happened with you and the President. I said, we found common ground, right? Yeah. I come to like him and he likes him and gives us a lot to talk about.” (03:56, Graham)

• President Trump on Graham’s Passing

  “He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually. It’s amazing.” (05:00, Trump)

• Matt Whitlock on Graham’s legacy:

  “I don’t know if there’s anybody who actually a higher success level of bringing the President his direction on so many different issues.” (04:07)

• On Ro Khanna’s ambitions:

  “The plan to turn this into a presidential announcement smells very fish from the thirstiest member of the House or Senate at a time when he's desperately looking to change the subject…” (08:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:33–06:23: Lindsey Graham Tribute & Legacy
• 06:30–09:49: Ro Khanna in Israel, fallout, and the Graham Platner controversy
• 09:50–End: Zohran aide/“light treason,” Texas birth tourism story, CFPB open banking rule; stories to watch this week

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Tone & Style

Matt Whitlock maintains a brisk, no-nonsense delivery—balancing heartfelt reflection on Graham’s legacy with sharp, sometimes acerbic, political analysis. He’s unafraid to challenge public narratives (especially around Khanna) and gives listeners an “insider’s” read on the week’s big controversies, all in a quick 10-minute burst.

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Bottom Line

This episode pays respectful tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham, then pivots to break down the political theater surrounding Ro Khanna’s Israel trip, and closes with a rapid-fire preview of big stories coming up in national news and politics. For listeners wanting to stay plugged in to what’s moving in D.C.—and why—this episode delivers both context and commentary in under ten minutes.

Transcript

[Host]

We pay tribute at the unexpected passing of Senator Lindsey Graham. Ro Khanna took a trip into Israel that did not go so well. We break it all down and a look at the crazy week ahead on another Monday. Rundown from 10 Minute Drill. Everybody get up.

[Co-host]

Get up.

[Donald Trump]

The story of America is the story of an adventure.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

I can hear you.

[Host]

The rest of the world hears you.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.

[Host]

To start off on a somber note. Yesterday morning we learned of the tragic and unexpected passing of United States Senator Lindsey Graham. He was 71 years old.

[News Reporter]

Breaking news overnight. Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has died at 71 years old. His office writing quote, on the Evening of Saturday, July 11, US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.

[Host]

I had the opportunity to work closely with Senator Graham, both in the Senate when I worked for Senator Hatch. They worked together on Judiciary Committee and a number of other important priorities. But also when I was at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, I got to work with Senator Graham and his campaign as he was up for reelection. Now, as people are sharing fond memories of some of Senator Graham's greatest moments, one that a lot of people are talking about was his aggressive and passionate defense of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You've said that, not me.

[Host]

I had the opportunity to be in the room for that, and it was electric. We had been watching closely as this confirmation process had really gone off the rails after the Democrats had sort of unleashed this character assassination attempt and it had got ugly.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through. Boy, y' all want power. God, I hope you never get it.

[Host]

Senator Graham had a unique sort of position on this because he had voted for some of the Democrats nominees. He had voted for Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan. And so he felt like it was unfair that he had given them a fair opportunity. And the Democrats were trying to destroy Justice Kavanaugh, who a lot of Republicans believed was as good, clear, mainstream a justice as they could have hoped for from President Trump.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said, oh, cause I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy.

[Host]

But again, this cemented Senator Graham's position in sort of conservative folklore because People called it Lindsay 2.0. People hadn't seen him reach that level of animosity before because he was such a sort of Southern gentleman, collegial guy. But he and many of these other senators knew Justice Kavanaugh, knew his family and knew what was going on here, which was a nakedly political character assassination attempt solely focused on power. And he did not let them get away with it. One of my roles at the NRSC was to help people see the non political side of senators. And so we had a podcast then called 20 for 20, which was 20 minutes with the 2020 Republican Senate incumbents who were up for reelection. And so we talked to them about things like movies. They like their upbringing. Lindsey Graham was perfect for that format. You're a big movie guy.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

Yeah, I love movies.

Yeah.

[Host]

What are some of your favorite movies?

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

Yeah, I mean, couple hours in the dark, nobody's bothering you.

That's why I like movies.

[Host]

Heard you're a big Monty Python fan.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

Oh, yes, yes, yes. How do you know She's a witch? Turned me into a nude. A new got better.

[Host]

I mean, talked about golfing with the President.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

Well, he's pretty good.

I'm getting better.

I got.

I think when he gets 80, I'm gonna take him down.

But he's got a good 80 and

I gotta shoot 80.

[News Reporter]

Yeah, right.

[Senator Lindsey Graham]

He's a ton of fun. You know, everybody asked me, what happened with you and the President. I said, we found common ground, right? Yeah. I come to like him and he likes him and gives us a lot to talk about.

[Host]

One thing that people don't really understand about Lindsey Graham, a lot of the people on the left say he was so thirsty for relevance and he threw out all his principles to suck up to the President. That's not ever what he was doing. He was creating a relationship with the President so that he could influence the President to serve his constituents and on the issue sets that he cared about. And if you look at the full record of Lindsey Graham, I don't know if there's anybody who actually a higher success level of bringing the President his direction on so many different issues. First and foremost on foreign policy, you look at just these last few weeks, I think Senator Graham's positions on a lot of things have been really validated and vindicated, particularly on Russia and Ukraine, Iran, the need to kill terrorists, the need to not trust these radical clerics in Iran, things like that. And so I think he spent so much time getting to know the president. And if you heard President Trump's comments yesterday, in reaction to his passing, I

[Donald Trump]

got a message about one o' clock in the morning from one of the people at his office that he had passed away. I said, you got. I just can't believe it. He was like a member of the family to me. It's very tough, actually. It's amazing.

[Host]

That's some of the most genuine sadness I've ever heard from President Trump. He talked about him like another family member. And so, again, a huge tragedy for a great person. Another thing I just wanted to share is one of the things he talked about in our podcast interview was his upbringing. He lived in the back of a bar that was called Sanitary Cafe in Central South Carolina. He had his parents passed away when he was young, and he helped raise his younger sister, Darlene. What's so interesting is he talks about growing up until he was a teenager in this tiny room. They all lived in the same room in the back of this bar cafe. And then they graduated into a motorhome. But Lindsay was the first person from his family ever to go to college. He went to the University of South Carolina and got involved in their Air Force ROTC program, spent 30 years in the JAG Corps with our Armed Services, and then ran for office and served in the House. Then, of course, the Senate. Just a phenomenal person who has a great story to tell. He never got married, never had kids of his own, but to hear him talk about his sister Darlene, who was eight years younger than him and was only 13 when their parents passed away. She talks about how he helped raise her and the sacrifices that he made to help her, but then also to be there for her own children. And hearing that, I think is a beautiful thing that most people never had the opportunity to learn about because they just saw him through the sort of political lens of everything that he had going on. Last thing I would say about Senator Graham is he was a phenomenal bridge between the Senate conference and the administration because of the relationship that he had built. He played a key role in smoothing out things like the one big beautiful bill. And so, again, huge loss for the Senate Republican Conference, prayers for Senator Graham's family, but also the huge, incredible coaching tree of staff that have come through Senator Graham's office over the years, whether it was his Judiciary team, his Budget Committee team, his Senate Foreign Relations Committee team. A lot of really incredible people have come through that. And my prayers are with them just because I know this is a difficult thing to swallow. So shocking, so sudden, but our prayers are with all of them. On Saturday, Ro Khanna announced that he had been detained during a trip in Israel through these settlements. And he talked about how settlers had violently detained him and brandished weapons that US payers had funded, held him for 90 minutes. This incident got a ton of media immediately. Not super surprising because Rohana has had pretty inflamed rhetoric around Israel for a very, very long time. But in the fallout, he said things like this has made me think very seriously about running for president. Now, since his account came out on Saturday, there have been a lot more questions that have been raised about this.

[Co-host]

Now, in terms of Ro Khanna, we reached out to him when we heard he was going to Israel. The Israeli Embassy in Washington, we suggested he visit with survivors of the October 7th massacre, that he visit the borders so he understands the issues that we have on our borders and so on. He ignored that and he decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists. Perhaps if he would have coordinated the trip and then, you know, to have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it on Saturday.

[Host]

We're going to spend a lot of time on this in our episode coming out on Tuesday with a deeper dive. But I have questions of my own. One of them is why was a New York Times photographer and reporter embedded with him on this trip? Did he warn the local officials that he was going to be there in a war torn place to make sure there were the proper clearances and things like that? And of course, just so many questions about how this happened and how it happened to perfectly align with his long term policy goals around Israel. And the sort of plan to turn this into a presidential announcement smells very fish from the thirstiest member of the House or Senate at a time when he's desperately looking to change the subject from his long term defense of Graham Platner, which is still going very poorly. This just happened yesterday.

[Guest Commentator]

For me, the line always was sexual assault or sexual violence. And as soon as that came out, I was the first person to withdraw my endorsement. That we all need to see the signs earlier of people who may engage in domestic violence. Look, I wasn't the only one you had.

[Host]

You'll remember when Ro Khanna says, you know, we need to all do a better job looking out for the signs. We had the signs. Ro Khanna, right after the New York Times story came out that highlighted very specific incidents of abuse from Graham Platner, he raced up to Maine to campaign for Platner and went on a full media tour downplaying the accusations. So for him now to say, gosh, somehow we all missed this. It's not we all missed this, Ro. It's that you papered over this and hoped that it wouldn't rise to the level that it did. And if I were Ro Khanna, I'd sit out a few plays. There are a ton of huge stories that we're going to cover this week. A member of Zoran Mandami's senior cabinet staff in his mayoral office scheduled a meeting with the Iranian ambassador. Something that is a huge, massive no, no and red flag. We're going to talk about this crazy story out of Texas of a hospital in Texas advertising for discounted birth packages across the border in Mexico. It looks simply like an effort to bring in birth tourism to the United States and allow people to come into the United States, have their babies who will now be United States citizens because of the Supreme Court's recent decision on this. The other wrinkle in that that we're going to talk quite a bit about. This hospital is a tax exempt hospital under the 340B program, meaning our tax dollars are funding these advert for birth tourism. This is a huge problem, a huge red flag. We're going to talk about some of the foreign influence still going into this fight against data centers. There's a huge day of action coming up in just a few days. We're going to break down why it feels so similar to the no Kings rallies and protests. The whole world right now is waiting for the final rule. We've talked quite a bit about the open banking rule, the rule that will allow big banks to add new fees anytime you try to access your own data. The fact that CFPB is currently considering a final rule for this that might allow banks to add these fees. This is something that's been hotly debated for about a year and a half now. And outgoing CFPB director Russ Vode is expected to testify on Wednesday, meaning this rule could come out any day. There's a new campaign drawing attention to this and how it might hurt families. From the American Parents Coalition that is calling on the Trump administration to not let big banks ruin your summer. Encouraging the Trump administration to block a Jamie Dimon tax that could ruin your summer on everything from online transactions for swimming lessons, baseball tickets, Tommy's Lemonade Stand, lake kayaking, concert tickets, anything that you might use a credit card or financial app to pay for. This is a rule that is likely coming this week, so we'll be following it very closely. So much going on. Tune in with us every day this week. You won't want to miss it. 10 minute drill. We will see you there. Have a great rest of your Monday.