Reverend Franklin Graham came forth on Facebook Monday to blast House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her scurrilous attack on President Trump in which she stated he was “fiddling while people are dying.”
Graham wrote:
CNN reported that Nancy Pelosi accused President Donald J. Trump of “fiddling while people are dying.” What??? Yesterday President Trump had more than a full day, meeting at the White House with key supply chain distribution leaders on COVID-19. Is that fiddling? Then he moved to the Rose Garden where he and the coronavirus task force held a 1.5 hour briefing to keep America informed. Is that fiddling? No, President Trump has been working to do everything he can to help our nation. I wonder what Nancy Pelosi was doing? It could be said that she was the one who caused delays in people getting the help they need because she was “fiddling” with the economic stimulus package, trying to work in political agendas and funding for pet projects. Pray for President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and all of the governors and mayors who are leading their states and cities as they face many very long days and tough decisions. They need God’s help and wisdom. Also pray for the medical professionals in the front lines of this battle day in and day out.
On Sunday, Pelosi had appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Jake Tapper, where she snapped, “What the president — his denial at the beginning was deadly. His delaying of getting equipment to where —it continues — his delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly.” She later added, “And, again, I hope that those who advise him, the scientists who advise him, will get him on the right track, so that he is making decisions that are in favor of ending this deadly pandemic, rather than test whether he can quarantine a state or not, as he had to reverse himself again yesterday. Don’t fiddle while people die, Mr. President.”
Last December, Christianity Today, the magazine Graham’s late father Billy Graham founded, wrote an editorial titled “Trump Should Be Removed From Office.”
Christianity Today wrote, “In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment … the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”
The magazine then launched a personal attack on Trump:
The reason many are not shocked about this is that this president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration. He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.
The editorial stated further, “To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence … The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.”
Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, responded on Facebook:
For Christianity Today to side with the Democrat Party in a totally partisan attack on the President of the United States is unfathomable. Christianity Today failed to acknowledge that not one single Republican voted with the Democrats to impeach the President. I know a number of Republicans in Congress, and many of them are strong Christians. If the President were guilty of what the Democrats claimed, these Republicans would have joined with the Democrats to impeach him. But the Democrats were not even unanimous—two voted against impeachment and one voted present. This impeachment was politically motivated, 100% partisan. Why would Christianity Today choose to take the side of the Democrat left whose only goal is to discredit and smear the name of a sitting president? They want readers to believe the Democrat leadership rather than believe the President of the United States.
Graham pointed out, “The President has been a staunch defender of religious freedom at home and around the world—and Christianity Today wants us to ignore that? Also the President has appointed conservative judges in record number—and Christianity today wants us to ignore that?”
He concluded, “Christianity Today said it’s time to call a spade a spade. The spade is this—Christianity Today has been used by the left for their political agenda. It’s obvious that Christianity Today has moved to the left and is representing the elitist liberal wing of evangelicalism. Is President Trump guilty of sin? Of course he is, as were all past presidents and as each one of us are, including myself. Therefore, let’s pray for the President as he continues to lead the affairs of our nation.”