'Evangelicals for Harris' Goes to War With Franklin Graham

In a 1988 sermon, the Rev. Billy Graham, a prominent Christian evangelist, referenced a Bible passage that he shared with a man on a flight. Quoting the Scripture, Graham warned of dangerous times in the last days, saying, “Men will become utterly self-centered and greedy for money.” He added that people would be “proud, abusive,” and “treacherous, reckless, and arrogant, loving what gives them pleasure instead of loving God.” Graham further cautioned, “They will maintain a facade of religion, but their lives deny the truth. Keep clear of people like that.”

In 2024, footage from this sermon has surfaced in a political ad released by Evangelicals for Harris, a group supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign against Donald Trump. The ad juxtaposes Graham’s sermon with clips of Trump, in which he boasts, "My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy," and claims to have "grabbed all the money I could get." Other clips show Trump calling himself “the chosen one,” speaking about wanting to punch someone, and boasting of kissing women without permission.

The ad, titled “Keep Clear,” is part of a $1 million campaign by Evangelicals for Harris aimed at reaching evangelical voters in swing states. However, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and a vocal Trump supporter, condemned the ad. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he accused the group of misusing his late father’s footage, stating that his father supported Trump’s conservative policies and that his views would remain unchanged if he were alive today.

Evangelicals for Harris responded, asserting that Franklin Graham is trying to silence them through legal threats. They argued that their use of the footage is protected under the fair use clause of the Copyright Act. The group emphasized that they are simply highlighting Trump’s actions against the backdrop of biblical teachings, without dictating how voters should respond.

While Trump continues to rely on the support of white evangelical voters, Evangelicals for Harris hopes to sway enough evangelicals in key states to make a difference in the election. Despite skepticism from some analysts about the group’s potential impact, the group remains confident, drawing on its success in 2020 when it was known as Evangelicals for Biden. Their message: Vice President Harris represents values of love, compassion, and care for the vulnerable, in contrast to Trump’s divisive rhetoric.