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Trump Responds to Franklin Graham's No-Cursing Request and Rallies Christian Voters
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Jun 24, 2024
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump revealed Saturday that evangelist Franklin Graham had urged him to clean up his language in public speeches -- a request with which the former President admitted he didn’t agree. Trump made the comments during a speech in Pennsylvania after he had already cursed several times and brought up Graham’s name.
“Franklin Graham -- son of the great Billy Graham. And I like Franklin so much. And he wrote me a letter. And he said, ‘President, I love your speaking [and] your ability to speak is incredible. Your storytelling is great. But it could be so much better if you didn’t use foul language.’”
Trump said he believes Graham is wrong but also said he’s “been working so hard” to clean up his language.
“The problem is, if you don’t interject every once in a while -- I’m only talking about one or two times during an entire speech,” Trump said. “You know, these speeches go on for two hours. One or two, Franklin, give me one or two words.”
It was at least the second time Trump had told the story during the past week. Earlier in the week, Trump said Graham “wrote me a beautiful letter” and encouraged him to stop cursing.
“Little words like that word that starts with a B, and ends with a T, right? It’s just such a descriptive word. I don’t know how you replace some of these words.
“But I think of him when I [curse],” Trump said.
At a rally in Philadelphia, Trump tells crowd that Franklin Graham wrote him a letter telling him his speeches would be better if he didn’t use “foul language.” Trump says Graham is “wrong!” @Franklin_Graham #trump pic.twitter.com/1zfMKpL9a3
— Jesse Jackson (@JesseTJackson) June 23, 2024
Meanwhile, Trump, in a separate speech on Saturday, said Christians will suffer if President Biden wins re-election.
“The radical left is trying to shame Christians, silence you, demoralize you, and they want to keep you out of politics,” Trump told the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference. “They don’t want you to vote. That’s why you have to vote.”
Christians, he said, “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines” this November.
“If Joe Biden gets back in, Christianity will not be safe,” Trump added. “In a nation with no borders, no laws, no freedom, no future. Not going to be safe. You’re not going to be safe as a person, and your religion certainly will be, I think, in tatters.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
