Billy Graham Association Releases Statement Over Ad

Oh, what a mess this has turned into. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) isn’t exactly thrilled about Evangelicals for Harris using clips of the late Rev. Billy Graham in a political ad blitz against Donald Trump.

To put it mildly, the BGEA’s legal team has made it clear they’re ready to take this to the courts if necessary, sending a cease-and-desist letter over what they claim is an unauthorized use of copyrighted material. But Evangelicals for Harris isn’t backing down, arguing they have every right under “fair use” to feature decades-old sermons of Graham. And so, the battle lines are drawn.

This isn’t your typical squabble, though. On one side, you have Evangelicals for Harris, a PAC that’s essentially using Billy Graham’s words to question Trump’s character—going so far as to suggest that the former president fits the biblical description of “evil men in the last days” from a sermon Graham delivered back in 1988. Not surprisingly, the BGEA, led by Franklin Graham, has taken issue with this approach. Their argument is simple: Billy Graham never intended his gospel-centered sermons to become ammunition in a political fight, especially one involving a candidate like Trump, who the late preacher’s son openly supports.

And Franklin Graham isn’t shy about his stance. He’s made it clear that his father, who worked with 11 U.S. presidents without criticizing them publicly, would have been appalled to see his teachings twisted into an attack on a political figure. Franklin has been a consistent supporter of Trump, going as far as suggesting that the 45th president was the last candidate his father voted for before his passing in 2018. To Franklin, this isn’t just about legal rights—it’s about protecting his father’s legacy from being dragged into the mud of campaign ads.

But Evangelicals for Harris is playing hardball. They fired back at the BGEA’s cease-and-desist with a formal legal response, citing their belief that their use of Graham’s sermons falls under the “fair use” umbrella of the Copyright Act. They’ve taken their grievances public, accusing Franklin of trying to silence them because he’s “scared” of the message their ads carry. In their view, Franklin is propping up a man they see as embodying everything wrong with modern American politics.

And then there’s Jerushah Duford, Franklin’s own niece, who’s adding fuel to the fire. She’s been a vocal critic of Trump and his supporters for years, even accusing them of turning people away from Christianity. Now, she’s taking aim at her uncle, accusing him of abandoning his own sister to survey hurricane damage with Trump in Georgia. Her post on X, complete with the biting hashtag “#wwjd,” takes a pretty direct shot at Franklin’s priorities, implying he’s more interested in photo ops than family obligations.

As all this plays out, it’s hard not to see the irony. Evangelicals for Harris, led by Rev. Jim Ball—who’s got history with Evangelicals for Biden—claims they’re standing up for a pure, non-partisan Christian message. They argue that Franklin’s alignment with Trump is tainted with the same “fear and anger” that they believe has overtaken parts of the church. Yet, their ads, pulling selectively from Billy Graham’s sermons, seem pretty political themselves.

Ultimately, this saga is more than just a legal dispute over some decades-old sermon footage. It’s a collision of two very different visions of what it means to be an Evangelical in today’s America. On one side, you’ve got Franklin Graham, who sees his father’s legacy as one of spiritual guidance and non-partisan counsel to presidents, including Trump.

On the other, you’ve got Evangelicals for Harris, who believe their moral duty is to challenge what they see as a dangerous alliance between Christianity and Trump’s politics. Whether this ends up in court or just keeps playing out on social media, one thing’s for sure: it’s a fight that goes way beyond copyright law.