Anti-LGBTQ evangelist Franklin Graham will deliver the invocation at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to a copy of the program circulating on X, The Washington Blade has reported.
Graham’s invocation further cements Trump’s connection to the Christian Evangelical community. An estimated 80% of evangelical voters supported Trump even though Trump says he has never had to ask God for forgiveness because he has never made any mistakes. Trump has been found liable for sexual assault, convicted of 34 felonies, and accused of sexual misconduct by at least 26 women.
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Congress replaces statue of white supremacist with statue of anti-LGBTQ+ zealot
A statue of white supremacist politician Charles Aycock will be replaced by anti-gay pastor Rev. Billy Graham.
Graham is also symbolic of the anti-LGBTQ+ agenda that Trump and his administration will espouse in Trump’s second term.
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Graham has called for “regime change” in the U.S. because trans rights are “evil” and “wicked.” He has called LGBTQ+ rights a “godless, secular agenda” and said that LGBTQ people are “extremely dangerous if they are permitted to proceed unchecked.”
He has referred to gay Christians as “the enemy,” said that sexually transmitted diseases are a punishment for ignoring God’s guidelines, that trans people who need to pee are a danger to women and children, and
He’s complained that Pope Francis is trying to “normalize homosexuality.” He has called for a boycott of Target for instituting gender-neutral language in its stores, called for a boycott of Girls Scout cookies due to the organization’s support of LGBTQ+ rights, and called for boycotts of businesses that feature same-sex couples in their advertisements.
He has called for foreign nations to deny people with official gender-neutral markers on their passports. He cited a Biblical verse calling for death for homosexuality when talking about out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. He has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay propaganda law and has said that gays and lesbians are “recruiting” people by adopting children.
Graham was also offered the chance to conduct the opening prayer at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
Trump’s second term is considered highly likely to pursue the anti-LGBTQ+ agenda outlined in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for his presidency. The project calls upon the government to no longer recognize same-sex marriages, to ban all legal recognitions and rights connected to transgender people, to eradicate any mention of LGBTQ+ issues in schools or the federal government, and to end all federally funded LGBTQ+-related anti-discrimination programs as well as any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
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