In Defense of a “Heretic”: Racist, Bigoted, Right-Wing Populist or, None of the Above?

Right-Wing Populist

The most common, and perhaps the most absurd accusation against Graham, is that his influenced directly played into President Trump’s election.

Graham was notoriously political in his early career. He was a staunch opponent of communism and quite vocal about his political opinions. In the aftermath of Nixon’s disastrous presidency, he swore off politics for good. He recognized that he had put too much faith in the political system and never again promoted a political candidate or party. He refused to endorse candidates and served as spiritual advisor to every president for the remained of his life, regardless of political party.

For the last twenty years or so, Billy Graham has been virtually bed-ridden—battling Parkinson’s disease and hydrocephalus. In that time, his son Franklin took over as CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The younger Graham then became one of the highest paid CEOs of a non-profit in the nation, he became heavily involved in politics and exercised tight control over his father’s public image. Billy explicitly rejected his son’s portrayal of Islam as an “evil and wicked” religion, and heavily implied that God will save people from all faiths. And let’s not forget that Billy Graham was a lifelong Democrat.

In absolutely no way can we say that Billy Graham’s legacy was the creation of a religious right. In fact, in a 1981 article in Parade Magazine, Graham said, “I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”

To accuse Graham of Trump’s rise to power is ignorant at best, slander at worst. The left’s tendency to create these alternate narratives out of alternative facts and misrepresentations demonstrates its willingness to use the same method as the right: destroy the enemy by any means necessary.