'Evangelicals for Harris' tries to use Billy Graham against Trump — but it could backfire in a big way



Evangelicals for Harris, a political action committee, could be facing a lawsuit for trying to use Billy Graham against former President Donald Trump.

Last month, the group released a new ad campaign featuring Graham and Trump. The ad splices together pieces of a 1988 sermon the late evangelist preacher gave on 2 Timothy 3:1-5, according to the Christian Post, with clips of Trump.

'In all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word.'

"But you must realize that in the last days, the times will be full of danger," Graham declares in the ad. "Men will become utterly self-centered and greedy for money."

After Graham's pronouncement, the ad cuts to a video of Trump at a campaign stop, saying, "My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy."

Returning to Graham's sermon repeatedly, the ad suggests that Trump is "proud and abusive," based on previous comments he made about women; suggests Trump is violent, citing a speech in which Trump joked that he wanted to punch someone in the face; suggests Trump loves "pleasure," not God, citing the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape; and suggests Trump "maintains a facade of religion," citing his declaration that he has never asked God for forgiveness.

The ad ends with Graham declaring, "Keep clear of people like that."

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Evangelicals for Harris spent more than $1 million on the new ad campaign, according to the Christian Post, and now the group may be facing a lawsuit.

After the ad's release, lawyers for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reportedly sent Evangelicals for Harris multiple letters, including a cease-and-desist notice.

One letter, the Religious News Service reported, even threatened a lawsuit on the basis of copyright infringement.

In a statement, the BGEA confirmed it shared its concerns with Evangelicals for Harris about "unauthorized, political use of BGEA’s copyrighted video."

"It may be worth noting that, in all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word. He never criticized presidents publicly and would undoubtedly refuse to let his sermons be used to do so, regardless of who is involved," the statement explained.

In response, Evangelicals for Harris claimed Franklin Graham is using the "Trump playbook" to "silence" the group and argued that the use of the Billy Graham sermon is protected under the Copyright Act.

"Franklin is scared of our ads because we do not tell people what to do or think. We merely hold Trump’s own words up to the light of Scripture, the necessity of repentance, and Biblical warnings against leaders exactly like Trump," the group said in a statement.

"If Franklin follows through on his threats, we’ll see him in court," Evangelicals for Harris said.

While Evangelicals for Harris may indeed think they are holding up Trump to the "light of scripture," the group fails to do the same for Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Millions of people will now see these important Bible verses thanks to a new Billy Graham statue in the US Capitol



Billy Graham, the famed evangelist whose crusades reached hundreds of millions of people, was officially honored at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

A 7-foot statute of Graham's likeness was unveiled inside the National Statuary Hall during a ceremony that was attended by Graham's family, Speaker Mike Johnson (R), North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), former Vice President Mike Pence, and other North Carolina lawmakers.

'I think it's providential that it's right here. I think it's the perfect placement.'

"Today North Carolina gives the nation a symbol representing one of our dearest treasures: the Reverend Billy Graham, a man of faith, a man of North Carolina," Cooper said at the ceremony.

The statue depicts Graham holding an open Bible with his left hand, and his right hands points to the text. The Bible is opened to Galatians 6:14, which reads, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The base of the statue includes two additional Bible verses:

  • John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
  • John 14:6: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Speaker Johnson remarked that he was thrilled of the statue's position — prominently situated near the opening of the Capitol hall — because it means millions of people will be confronted with the Bible verses and Graham's faith.

"I think it's providential that it's right here," Johnson said. "I think it's the perfect placement."

Franklin Graham said that his father would be uncomfortable with Thursday's ceremony "because he would want the focus to be on the one that he preached. He’d want the focus to be on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Known for being a pastor to presidents — counseling Harry Truman to Barack Obama — Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99. Because of his oversized influence, Graham became just the fourth private citizen to lie in honor inside the U.S. Capitol. He was laid to rest at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, next to his wife on March 2, 2018.

Graham's statue replaces the statue of Charles Aycock, a Democrat and segregationist who served as the 50th governor of North Carolina. The campaign to install Graham's statue dates back to 2015.

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Whitlock: Joe Rogan, Ted Koppel, and Billy Graham were supposed to save America



Journalists should be Joe Rogan’s most passionate defenders.

His massive podcast following is built on asking questions. Rogan is an interviewer, not an opinionist. He’s Bob Ley, not Skip Bayless.

Do we even remember Bob Ley, the longtime ESPN broadcaster? Ley joined the sports network three days after its 1979 launch and was its signature on-air journalist until 2019. Ley retired. ESPN abandoned his signature show, “Outside the Lines,” which was sports television’s version of “Nightline.”

Joe Rogan’s success proves that journalism still makes good business sense. The presentation of information can still drive an audience. Information doesn’t need to be dressed up with bombast and snark.

Joe Rogan should be a hero.

Instead, he’s being turned into a pariah. His three-hour interviews with doctors who question the prevailing COVID narratives are being framed as an existential threat to our democracy and health. Rogan’s interviews are so dangerous that Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones accused Rogan of being racist. In a since-deleted tweet, Hannah-Jones alleged that Rogan’s popularity is due to America’s comfort with racism.

Hannah-Jones shared a compilation video of Rogan using the N-word. There is no context to the video. We don’t know how Rogan used the word. For some people context does not matter. Rogan is white. He used the N-word. He is racist.

I’ve watched Rogan’s interviews with Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough. Malone and McCullough offered COVID opinions that contradict the official, government-approved narrative. I’ve seen a half-dozen other Rogan interviews. His interviews don’t strike me as particularly dangerous. I’ve heard nothing racist from Rogan.

He’s a comedian who likes to use drugs. It wouldn’t surprise me if he cracked jokes that could be deemed bigoted. In pursuit of laughs, comedians push the envelope. From Dave Chappelle to Redd Foxx to Andrew Dice Clay to Paul Mooney, comedians use racial stereotypes to make audiences laugh.

Now we’re using accusations of racism to silence people who ask the wrong questions or interview the wrong people.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times, Big Pharma, and Big Tech are determined to smear Joe Rogan with the same brush that smeared Alex Jones and Donald Trump. Most people believe Jones and Trump deserved to be smeared and deplatformed. The same is true of black nationalist Louis Farrakhan.

But where does the censorship stop?

Joe Rogan is a bigot? Is Bill Maher next? Dave Chappelle is transphobic.

When they’re done deplatforming and demonizing comedians, Christian ministers will be next. It’s already happening. Ministers are afraid to preach biblical truth. Their goal now is to be inclusive.

In a healthy, free society, journalists, comedians, and ministers should feel liberated to explore and discuss uncomfortable truths. Newspapers, comedic stages, and pulpits were sacred grounds for truth-telling. Journalists, comedians, and ministers are supposed to set the boundaries for truthful debate. Big Tech is a poor substitute.