Evangelical PAC Issues Apology Over Billy Graham Sermon Usage in Political Ads
In a notable turn of events, a political action committee that once backed Kamala Harris’ campaign has publicly apologized for using sermon footage of the late Rev. Billy Graham in a political context. The group, initially known as “Evangelicals for Harris,” has since rebranded to “Evangelicals for America” following Harris’ defeat in the 2024 presidential election.
Earlier this week, the group issued a statement admitting to the misuse of Graham’s sermons to criticize President Trump during the election campaign. They acknowledged the error of politicizing the evangelist’s gospel message without obtaining prior permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
“In the lead up to the 2024 presidential election, Evangelicals for America PAC’s ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ campaign produced several ads using clips of Rev. Billy Graham,” the group explained. “We did this believing that our use of the clips of Rev. Graham, although not done with the prior permission of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), would meet the criteria for Fair Use under the US Copyright Act.”
The BGEA, led by Franklin Graham, a known Trump supporter, issued a cease-and-desist letter to the group last October, expressing concern over the unauthorized use of Graham’s work. “BGEA wrote to us, concerned that we were infringing its copyright in the video clips of Rev. Graham by using them for political purposes without authorization,” the PAC stated in their apology.
Since Trump’s victory, Evangelicals for America has been in discussions with BGEA, acknowledging that Billy Graham’s ministry was apolitical, focusing instead on spreading the message of Jesus Christ. They reiterated Graham’s intent to preach the gospel universally, irrespective of political affiliations.
Expressing their gratitude towards BGEA for resolving the matter peacefully, Evangelicals for America affirmed their respect for the association’s intellectual property rights. “Accordingly, we have taken down and will not repost our ads that incorporated video clips of Rev. Billy Graham,” they assured.
The group had previously invested over $1 million in ads broadcasted in key states, using Graham’s sermon footage to draw parallels between Trump’s character and the traits described in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, which outlines the behavior of men in the last days.
Despite claims of removing the ads, they remain visible on X as of Thursday. Meanwhile, Franklin Graham publicly criticized the use of his father’s image in support of Harris, stating that such actions misrepresented his father’s values and beliefs.
The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris. They even developed a political ad trying to use my father @BillyGraham’s image. They are trying to mislead people. Maybe they don’t know that my father appreciated the conservative values and policies of President [Trump] in 2016, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed. pic.twitter.com/LZe3SEm9Al
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) August 14, 2024
Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Jerushah Duford, was involved with Evangelicals for Harris. She articulated her political stance in one of the group’s events, emphasizing her concerns about the impact of Christian Trump supporters on the perception of Christianity.
“Voting Kamala, for me, is so much greater than policies,” remarked Duford, an LGBTQ-affirming counselor. “It’s a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread, and that is why I get involved in politics.”
This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
