Billy Graham's Granddaughter Condemns Evangelical Leaders Who Support Donald Trump

Jerushah Duford, the granddaughter of televangelist and Baptist preacher Billy Graham, condemned evangelical leaders who back President Donald Trump in an op-ed published Tuesday in USA Today.

“I have spent my entire life in the church, with every big decision guided by my faith,” Duford wrote. “But now, I feel homeless. Like so many others, I feel disoriented as I watch the church I have always served turn their eyes away from everything it teaches. I hear from Christian women on a daily basis who all describe the same thing: a tug at their spirit.”

Duford criticized Trump’s rhetoric about low-income public housing in suburban areas and said the president perpetuates an “us-versus-them” narrative. She also claimed his refugee and immigration policies run contrary to biblical teachings.

Duford was particularly disturbed by Trump’s decision to walk to St. John’s Church for a photo-op on June 1 amid protests against police brutality. Trump held up a Bible at the church after peaceful protesters were teargassed.

“He held a Bible, something so sacred to all of us, yet he treated that Bible with a callousness that would offend anyone intimately familiar with the words inside it,” she wrote, referring to Trump. “He believed that action would honor him and only him. However, the church, designed to honor God, said nothing.”

“It seems that the only evangelical leaders to speak up praised the president, with no mention of his behavior that is antithetical to the Jesus we serve,” she continued. “The entire world has watched the term ‘evangelical’ become synonymous with hypocrisy and disingenuousness.”

Duford called Christian women to rise up and “not allow Trump to lead this country for another four years.” Duford, an evangelical author, is affiliated with the anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project.

Trump has frequently courted the evangelical vote, appointing pro-life judges and claiming that people of faith are “under siege.” Trump has touted the Bible as his “favorite book” and said Democratic nominee Joe Biden would “hurt God” if elected president.

Yet, there are signs that the evangelical community could be breaking with Trump. Televangelist Pat Robertson recently condemned Trump’s “law and order” response to the protests after the death of George Floyd. Trump allies are also concerned that Biden, a devout Catholic, could make inroads with evangelical voters.

Billy Graham frequently gave large indoor and outdoor speeches to promote Christianity and provided spiritual advice to every president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama. Graham died in February 2018 at the age of 99.