Because of their support of him in the 2016 election, Trump has allowed conservative evangelicals leaders to gain access in his Administration. And due to this, many of them are out of control in terms of attempting to force policy on the rest of us. Many of them are blurring the lines between religion and politics.
None are more blatant about it than Franklin Graham. He has been supportive of Trump to the point of bending over backwards to dismiss his many faults. From time to time, he also sends proclamations to his over one million followers on twitter, like this one in which he sly infers that they should vote for Republicans in the upcoming midterm election or risk losing "religious liberty."
No one should buy the inevitable spin that Graham is merely taking advantage of his First Amendment rights. That is a lie and those who say it know this. Graham is exploiting his status as a highly prominent American religious leader to campaign for a political party. He is adding a dangerous component to politics, i.e. the notion that voting for the "wrong" party is tantamount to sinning and God will punish you if you do. It is unethical on all counts and may be illegal. But who is going to demand that he be prosecuted for it? Who will attempt to stop him?
None are more blatant about it than Franklin Graham. He has been supportive of Trump to the point of bending over backwards to dismiss his many faults. From time to time, he also sends proclamations to his over one million followers on twitter, like this one in which he sly infers that they should vote for Republicans in the upcoming midterm election or risk losing "religious liberty."
No one should buy the inevitable spin that Graham is merely taking advantage of his First Amendment rights. That is a lie and those who say it know this. Graham is exploiting his status as a highly prominent American religious leader to campaign for a political party. He is adding a dangerous component to politics, i.e. the notion that voting for the "wrong" party is tantamount to sinning and God will punish you if you do. It is unethical on all counts and may be illegal. But who is going to demand that he be prosecuted for it? Who will attempt to stop him?