President Trump I don’t think has admitted to having an affair with this person [porn actress Stormy Daniels]. And so this is just a news story, and I don’t even know if it’s accurate [Why does Graham believe pathological liar Donald Trump over Stormy Daniel?].
I believe at 70 years of age the president is a much different person today than he was four years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago [there’s no evidence for this being true]. He is not President Perfect [no shit Sherlock].
We certainly don’t hold him up as the pastor of this nation and he is not. But I appreciate the fact that the president does have a concern for Christian values, he does have a concern to protect Christians whether it’s here at home or around the world and I appreciate the fact that he protects religious liberty and freedom [gag me with a spoon].
Our country’s got a sin problem, and I believe if these politicians [Democrats and liberals] in Washington would recognize the moral failure of so many of their policies [hot button social issues] that maybe we could fix it [I thought only Jesus could fix our “sin” problem?].
— Franklin Graham, MSNBC News Report, January 20, 2018
“It’s OK if my guy does it but not OK if your guy does it.” The story of partisan politics.
Trump promised these evangelicals their SCOTUS and who knows what else so that’s all they care about. Disgusting. I have exactly zero respect for these folks.
Franklin needs to check out this 2011 story from InTouch:
http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/stormy-daniels-affair-donald-trump-151571
I would really love to know what Billy Graham thinks of Franklin’s stupid statements.
Billy excused Richard Nixon’s high crimes while in office, and encouraged him to keep bombing those “dirty commies” in Vietnam. Frankie learned at his daddy’s knee how to be an unrepentant racist, sexist, homophobic bigot, who lies, cheats, steals and will excuse murder, adultery and rape, so long as it lines his pockets and advances his political agenda. That entire family is disgusting (with the possible exception of Boz Tchividjian, who is trying–and largely failing–to get the evangelical world to address the rampant sexual abuse of women and children within its ranks.)
“The ends justify the means”. And the ends of course is overturning Roe vs. Wade. It is the singular purpose for the religious right’s existence.
This also explains why Obama merely wearing a tan suit sets him up for ridicule. It is all about abortion. It is why Merrick Garland couldn’t be seated on the Supreme Court.
In a way Trump is the price we paid for the “sin” of abortion. It would be interesting for Roe vs. Wade to be over tuned. In a way it would be a nightmare for Republicans at the state and federal level.
I suspect Trump has lowered the bar and that we no longer will expect our President to be the best of us.
I am an Evangelical Christian and I have commented on Mr.Gerencser’s blog in the past. I would not have voted for Donald Trump if I lived in America and I think it is disgraceful that Evangelical Christians voted for him, and that in their thousands. What hypocrites! They overlooked his immorality and strip clubs and casinos and the fact that he once attended a fundraiser for the murderous IRA (American Christians may not have known this fact but it probably wouldn’t have made any difference i.e they would have voted for him anyway.) He unfurled a LGBT rainbow banner at one of his pre-election rallies but the anti-LGBT Christians still voted for him! I think that the inconsistency and hypocrisy of these Christians plays right into the hands of atheists. I would not have voted for Hillary Clinton either because I consider her a dangerous, pro-abortion, pro-Islam and pro-LGBT woman. I do feel sorry for her however in her choice of husband. She chose a philanderer and a serial adulterer to marry and I’m sure he broke her heart. Franklin Graham’s endorsement and continual support of Donald Trump is disgraceful. He should not defend such a man or make excuses for him. He should not have voted for him. The Grahams (and Franklin in particular) are very wealthy and I’m sure he lives in luxury. This too is troubling because the love of money is the root of all evil.
I did not expect you to leave a comment here that I agree with, but with the single exception that I think Hillary Clinton is unfairly maligned and nowhere near so dangerous as you imagine, well… Yes. The hypocrisy is obvious, and staggering in its scale. Though if you look closely at the history of American evangelicalism (where it comes from and what it actually upholds) then it’s no surprise at all; this is perfectly consistent with what it’s stood for for a century or more, and only at odds with what it *claims* to stand for.
For the evangelical that tactically overlooks Trump’s warts the reward has been quite tangible. Evangelicals in my extended family voted for Trump with the assertion that God would use imperfect men in the Bible. I actually think they’re getting their lever worth. The liberal/swing supreme court members are all elderly. If Trump can pull off re-election I have no doubt there will be a conservative supreme court for at least the next 25 years. The United States is already on the verge of becoming a de facto theocracy, and it’ll only get worse. Also all Republican supreme court justices are purely partisan political appointments with the primary role of overturning Roe v Wade.
For those used to vote in a parliamentary system, where a fledgling party or knucklehead party can sometimes get some influence, such a moral high ground where Trump rubbing elbows with someone you don’t like is possible. In a presidential system you either play or waste your time.
This sort of blind eye to scandal isn’t new. Consider the 1884 election where Grover Cleveland was alleged to have an illiget child. “Ma ma where’s my Pa?” (Later finished with Went to the White House ha ha ha!”)
I sincerely hope that the Donald Trump experiment causes Americans to rethink the structure of the Supreme Court. There is no other democratic country that has a partisan court system. We trust our justices to implement the law, not to interpret it.
I wonder, Mrs White, had you been born as transgender, or lesbian, would you have the same views?
The post was about hypocritical Christians supporting and making excuses for Donald Trump, and my comment was on topic. You have not addressed my comment in any way, shape or form.
What do I think of your comment?
Well I suppose there’s a certain logic to it, in the sense that evangelical America lost any claim it may have had to the moral high ground in voting for Trump. It placed short term strategic considerations ahead of decency and compassion, and in so doing lost entirely its self respect.
Having said which, is evangelical Christianity outside of America any different? It stands for bigotry, inconsistent teachings of morality, failure to have heed for the rights of women in preference to the supposed rights of a cluster of cells. It lacks empathy, compassion, and decency, so I struggle to overly sympathise with your point of view.
Ms. White gave a thoughtful, spot-on commentary regarding hypocritical fundamentalist evangelicals supporting and making excuses for Donald Trump, and her comment was on topic. You failed to address her comment in any way, shape or form.
Although for totally different reasons than Ms. White cites, (I disagree with practically everything fundamentalist evangelicals believe) I absolutely agree with her that Hillary was just as dangerous if not more dangerous than “the Donald.” Both conservatives and liberals are pretty much lying about everything pretty much to everyone pretty much all the time.
Instead of celebrating the clear validity of her on-topic comment, it felt to me like you baited Ms. White with an off-topic question regarding LGBTQ issues. That seemed to me pointlessly and unnecessarily unkind, something a hypocritical fundamentalist evangelical would do. How does that sort of behavior make you any less hypocritical? Jus’ sayin’ …
I’m just glad you called her Ms. White. She hates being called Ms.
White is a hateful, mean-spirited bigot. You will not find anyone on this site that respects her. That she rightly criticized Trump doesn’t give her a pass on all the awful stuff she says. Hitler loved puppies.
Did you check out her blog?
I’m no fan of Clinton, but more dangerous than the fascist, Donald Trump? In what ways?
She raised the LGBTQ issue:
“ He unfurled a LGBT rainbow banner at one of his pre-election rallies but the anti-LGBT Christians still voted for him! I think that the inconsistency and hypocrisy of these Christians plays right into the hands of atheists. I would not have voted for Hillary Clinton either because I consider her a dangerous, pro-abortion, pro-Islam and pro-LGBT woman.”
For the record, White hates LGBTQ people.