President Trump thanked evangelist Franklin Graham for supporting him against the opposition from many evangelicals, including the publication his father founded.
Christianity Today, founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham in 1956, published an editorial calling for Trump’s removal from office in December. Written by editor-in-chief Mark Galli, the article argued that the president’s July 25 phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “profoundly immoral” and that the case against Trump was “unambiguous.”
Trump thanked the younger Graham, 67, on Friday afternoon while he was speaking at the launch of the Evangelicals for Trump coalition in Miami.
“Sissy Graham Lynch, when you talk about a great family, that is a great family. The granddaughter of Billy Graham and the daughter of Franklin. And I appreciate everything that Franklin has done over the last two weeks. Right, he fought very hard for us. And a special woman and it’s a special family. Thank you very much,” the president stated.
[Also read: ‘Just playing political games’: Prominent evangelical Trump supporter explains opposition to Christianity Today]
Following the editorial, Graham took to Facebook to express both his displeasure and that of his late father.
“Yes, my father Billy Graham founded Christianity Today,” Graham wrote, “but no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. In fact, he would be very disappointed,” he wrote and then claimed his father “knew Donald Trump, he believed in Donald Trump, and he voted for Donald Trump. He believed that Donald J. Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation.”
Around 200 prominent evangelicals signed a letter rebuking the flagship Christian magazine.
