Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham and a prominent evangelical figure close to Donald Trump’s administration, does not believe the president “intentionally” portrayed himself as a Christ-like figure in the deleted AI-generated image.
In a post on his Truth social account on Sunday, Trump pictured himself in a white robe and red sash in a hospital bed with a brightly outstretched hand resting on a man’s forehead. The president later said he “looked like a doctor to me.”
In a statement shared with independentGraham denounced what he called “another-intentioned speculation” about the president’s image, standing in contrast to the reaction of other faith leaders — including conservative evangelicals — who accused him of condemning irony and mocking sacred symbols to serve a political agenda.
“When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some,” Graham said.
“There were no spiritual references – no halos, there were no crosses, no angels,” he added. “I think it’s too much to do. There’s a lot of bad speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad.”
The Rev. Franklin Graham criticized ‘other presumptions’ about Trump’s position and said the president’s ‘enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad’ (Reuters)
Graham said he doesn’t believe Trump would “knowingly portray himself as Jesus Christ — that would certainly be inappropriate.”
“I’m grateful that the president has made it abundantly clear that this was not what the AI-generated image was representing — he thought this doctor was helping someone, and when he became aware of the concern, he immediately removed the post,” Graham added.
Graham, a prominent evangelist and president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has been allied with the president through both of his administrations.
He recently appeared at the White House with other Christian pastors, including Robert Jeffress, one of Trump’s longtime religious advisers who leads First Baptist Church in Dallas, to celebrate Easter.
On Palm Sunday, Trump shared a letter from Graham on his social media platform that addressed the president’s suggestion that he was going to hell. “I don’t think I’ll get anything in heaven, okay?” Trump speculated on Air Force One last year.
In response, Graham wrote: “Perhaps you answered in jest, but it is certainly an important issue to know that your soul is safe and will live eternally in the presence of God.”
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas last month, Graham said, “Love Donald Trump” and “we’ll never have another president like him”.
“That’s why it’s important that we do everything we can to try to get him re-elected,” he said.
Graham said he was “wrong” in a statement immediately after his comments.
Graham, who is a longtime Trump ally, said he was ‘thankful’ that the president claimed the image showed him as a ‘doctor’ (AFP/Getty)
His latest comments follow a wave of bipartisan outrage from conservative Christian commentators and pastors who have otherwise aligned with the president’s agenda.
But evangelical figures close to the president have declined to publicly weigh in or open the door for Trump to consider the episode a teaching moment.
The fragile alliance between conservative Catholics and evangelicals has been increasingly tested by the president’s growing hostility to Pope Leo XIV and Catholic leadership, as well as the administration’s characterization of the war with Iran as a Christian calling.
“I’m not Catholic, I’m an evangelical, but I appreciate President Trump’s defense of religious freedom for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in America and around the world,” Graham said in his statement.
“He’s the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime and he doesn’t back down from it,” he added. “I hope that the president and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the pope will have the opportunity to thank the president for his efforts to protect religious freedom.”
