Rev Franklin Graham has criticised US presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, telling Premier Christian News that the Vice President's political positions are "anti-Christ".
The son of the late evangelist is CEO of the Billy Graham Foundation, which has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the campaign group Evangelicals for Harris, after it released an advert featuring clips from a Billy Graham sermon.
The ad shows Billy Graham preaching in reference to 2 Timothy 3, saying: “But you must realize that in the last days, the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centred and greedy for money.”
It then splices to a clip of Donald Trump, telling a rally crowd: “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy.”
In response, Franklin Graham told Premier: “These people don’t have integrity. They are trying to make it look like my father would have supported Vice President Harris.
“My father was a strong conservative all of his life, theologically as well as politically.
“He would have never voted for or supported someone like Kamala Harris – someone who is almost anti-Christ in her positions. She has done nothing to support people of faith and what we believe and what we stand for.”
By contrast, Billy Graham’s granddaughter – and Franklin’s niece – Jerushah Duford, has been a prominent supporter of Evangelicals for Harris.
Speaking on a campaign Zoom call, she told the group that it “broke” her heart to hear religious leaders support Trump, given the allegations of sexual assault brought against him: “In 2016, when a man bragged about assaulting women, various leaders of my faith then propped up this man as a poster boy for godly manhood and leadership.”
Whilst Franklin Graham maintains political neutrality, he has made several public appearances alongside Donald Trump. Most recently, the former president joined Graham and the Samaritan's Purse in Georgia to assess the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Graham now tells Premier it would be “a great problem for the church if [Harris] was elected”, claiming he “hasn’t seen any evidence of faith in her life”.
“My father never would have supported her,” he said, “but this group is trying to make it look like he does, and it’s just not true.”