Franklin Graham thinks Joe Biden will be controlled by ‘LGBT+ activists pushing a godless agenda’
Franklin Graham speaks at the Republican National Convention on 27 August, 2020. (Getty/ Drew Angerer)
Trump ally and top Facebook influencer Franklin Graham has claimed that LGBT+ activists are working to control Joe Biden and push a “godless” agenda.
The controversial anti-LGBT+ preacher launched an attack on Biden after the Human Rights Campaign called for non-discrimination rules to be reaffirmed in higher education, preventing accreditation of universities that discriminate against LGBT+ students.
Franklin Graham rages at LGBT+ activists ‘controlling’ Joe Biden
In a Facebook post on Sunday (29 November), Graham raged: “LGBTQ activists within the Democratic Party are pushing their godless, secular agenda with a potential Biden administration.
“If you don’t conform to their ideology, agree with their sinful beliefs, teach what they say is right, they want to close you down. They will pressure and bully politicians to get their way.
“It is extremely dangerous if they are permitted to proceed unchecked.”
He claimed that “Christian ministries and churches [are] next” in the firing line “to try to force them to operate under policies that go against biblical teaching”.
Anti-LGBT preacher Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse
He continued: “This is not only an attack on free speech and expression, but also an attack on our religious liberty. The presidential election isn’t finalised yet, but this shows why who we vote for is so important.
“We’ve had four years of an administration under president Donald J Trump that staunchly defends religious freedom, freedom of speech, and the church.
“We can see that the one who holds the office of president of the United States has tremendous ramifications on our day-to-day lives and for the future of this nation.”
Preacher has a vast platform to spread anti-LGBT vitriol via Facebook
Franklin Graham became one of the most powerful conservative Facebook influencers in the run-up to the election, with his posts frequently reach the site’s daily top ten posts despite his hardline anti-LGBT+ views.
A study from Media Matters last month showed that he was one of Trump’s most significant boosters, with his posts earning higher engagement than the president’s own page.
Graham’s Facebook page racked up an average of over 219,000 interactions per post for a total of over 105.5 million interactions between 1 January and 18 October, the study found.
The Trump ally has a long record of extreme beliefs. He previously declared homosexuals “the enemy” of civilisation, and suggested that gay Democrat Pete Buttigieg will face “eternal damnation” for marrying a man.
On a 2015 trip to Russia, he accused gay people of “taking” children from straight couples – and lavished praise upon Vladimir Putin for imposing an anti-gay propaganda law.
He said: “I very much appreciate that president Putin is protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda. If only to give them the opportunity to grow up and make a decision for themselves.”
One of his most shocking remarks came in 2016, when he blamed gay people for a “moral 9/11”.
In an interview with Fox News pundit Todd Starnes, Graham said: “The country is imploding. We are seeing a moral implosion. Just like we saw the World Trade Center on 9/11 when the planes hit the tower, they imploded, they fell from within, and this is what’s happening to our country, we’re falling within.
“Our foundations have been weakened by immorality and it’s beginning to crumble.”
He added: “I want the school boards of America in the hands of evangelical Christians within the next four to six years.
“And it can happen and that will have a huge impact because so many school districts now are controlled by wicked, evil people, and the gays and lesbians, and I keep bringing their name up, but they are at the forefront of this attack against Christianity in America.”
