Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Evangelical Leader Franklin Graham Explains Why He Believes Donald Trump's Election Was an Act of God--and We See His Point

Evangelical Leader Franklin Graham Explains Why He Believes Donald Trump's Election Was an Act of God--and We See His Point
Screenshot via Youtube.

Well, when you put it that way...

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham in an interview called President Donald Trump "a changed person" amid recent reports of an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. Graham's comments came after a report that, one month before the 2016 presidential election, Michael Cohen––the president's personal attorney––arranged a $130,000 for Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford) as part of a nondisclosure agreement to keep her from discussing a sexual encounter with Trump back in 2006, while Trump was married to his current wife, Melania, and just a few months after Melania gave birth to their son, Barron.

"These alleged affairs, they're alleged with Trump, didn't happen while he was in office," Franklin Graham told CNN's Don Lemon. After Lemon questioned why "evangelicals were so willing to call out, say Bill Clinton's behavior but not President Trump's?" Graham insisted that there's a distinct difference between Clinton's extramarital affair and Trump's "alleged affairs."


"This happened 11, 12, 13, 14 years ago," he said. "And so, I think there is a big difference and not that we give anybody a pass, but we have to look at the timeline and that was before he was in office."

Graham argued that Trump has matured over the years, and did not falter when Lemon cited the president's history of controversial tweets and a recent report that he had made disparagingly racist remarks about immigrants from Haiti and African nations during a meeting with Congressional leaders. (“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” the president asked, according to lawmakers who were present at the meeting.)

"There is a lot of presidents that have had rough language and a lot of these things that have been accused of the President, I am not sure are true," Graham responded. "He says he didn't do it. And the others that said he didn't do it."

Graham also expressed his belief that God chose Trump to be president.

“[Donald Trump] did everything wrong as a candidate and he won, and I don't understand it. Other than I think God put him there.”

Lemon used quotes from the Bible to challenge Graham's assertions, saying, “The Bible and everyone always taught me to do unto others and not attack others, and that’s all this president does.”

“He’s not the pastor of our country, Don,” Graham replied. He said he hopes Trump will grow into a better “moral authority” in the next three years.

Lemon challenged that as well.

“I don’t understand the cognitive dissonance of Christians and [other] people who twist themselves into pretzels to try to make excuses for Donald Trump’s bad behavior,” Lemon said.

Graham, who, much like the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, has positioned himself as one of Trump's more vociferous evangelical defenders, urged Americans to look at the strong economy as proof of Trump's success. (In fact, most Americans recognize that Trump inherited former president Barack Obama's economy, and do not believe he's responsible for the stock market's strong performance.)

"We're all getting helped by Donald Trump's business expertise coming into Washington," he said.

Lemon has been adamant about Trump's effect on the political climate, bolstering white supremacists and fanning the flames of violence, particularly toward members of the media. Earlier this week, he claimed that the president is partially responsible for recent death threats against the cable news network’s staff.

At the time, Lemon was reporting on the arrest of Brandon Griesemer, a Michigan resident who, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday, called CNN's Atlanta headquarters and threatened its employees. “Fake news. I’m coming to gun you all down,” Griesemer allegedly said during one call. In another call, he said, “I am on my way right now to gun the fuckin’ CNN cast down. Fuck you.”

“There’s nothing random about this. Nothing,” Lemon said Tuesday. “This is what happens when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, repeatedly attacks members of the press simply for reporting facts he does not like.”

“I’ve heard from a number of very credible sources from within the White House that you watch this show,” Lemon continued. “So, Mr. President, I’m going to speak directly to you. The caller who threatened to kill CNN employees made his threat using these words: ‘Fake news. I’m coming to gun you all down.'" He paused. “Fake news. I wonder where he got those words.”

More from People/donald-trump

Lorne Michaels
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Lorne Michaels Just Explained The Thinking Behind His Big 'Saturday Night Live' Cast Shakeup

Saturday Night Live turned 50 last year and a lot of former cast members and major celebrities joined in the season long celebration, but it's a new year and it's time to get back to business.

Which, with SNL, usually means some cast changes—out with the old (and sometimes not so old) and in with the new. Show creator and producer Lorne Michaels recently announced SNL would return on October 4 with a literal handful—five—cast changes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kari Lake; Charlie Kirk
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kari Lake Slammed After Warning Parents Not To Send Their Kids To College After Charlie Kirk Murder

Speaking during a memorial service for far-right activist Charlie Kirk at the Kennedy Center, failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake—now the Trump administration's Senior Advisor for the U.S. Agency for Global Media—called U.S. colleges “indoctrination camps” and urged parents not to send their children.

Lake ignored the fact that Kirk was killed while speaking at a college, in this case Utah Valley University (UVU), the largest university by enrollment in Utah.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD Vance; Charlie Kirk
Real America's Voice

Vance Claims Kirk Never Insulted Black Women's 'Brain Processing Power'—And Here Come The Receipts

Vice President JD Vance served as host of the late far-right activist Charlie Kirk's podcast this week and was called out after claiming Kirk "never uttered" words about the "brain processing power" of Black women—even though Kirk said as much in 2023.

Vance made the claim after Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah—a Black woman—said she was dismissed from the paper following social media posts on gun control and race after Kirk’s assassination.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Fox News

Trump Swiftly Fact-Checked After Making Bonkers Claim About How Many Americans Died From Drugs Last Year

President Donald Trump was criticized after attempting to justify the bombing of a suspected Venezuelan drug boat by asserting that 300 million people died from drugs last year.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump was asked about the order he gave earlier this month to destroy a boat he suspected of transporting drugs off the coast of Venezuela, rather than simply intercepting it. All 11 people on board the boat were killed.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman's hand hold up a pink paper constructed heart that is on fire.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People Reveal The Pettiest Reasons They Stopped Hooking Up With Someone

Sex is a powerful weapon and a natural part of life.

But it can bamboozle and surprise you.

Keep ReadingShow less