'Evangelicals for Harris' tries to use Billy Graham against Trump — but it could backfire in a big way

Evangelicals for Harris, a political action committee, could be facing a lawsuit for trying to use Billy Graham against former President Donald Trump.

Last month, the group released a new ad campaign featuring Graham and Trump. The ad splices together pieces of a 1988 sermon the late evangelist preacher gave on 2 Timothy 3:1-5, according to the Christian Post, with clips of Trump.

'In all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word.'

"But you must realize that in the last days, the times will be full of danger," Graham declares in the ad. "Men will become utterly self-centered and greedy for money."

After Graham's pronouncement, the ad cuts to a video of Trump at a campaign stop, saying, "My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy."

Returning to Graham's sermon repeatedly, the ad suggests that Trump is "proud and abusive," based on previous comments he made about women; suggests Trump is violent, citing a speech in which Trump joked that he wanted to punch someone in the face; suggests Trump loves "pleasure," not God, citing the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape; and suggests Trump "maintains a facade of religion," citing his declaration that he has never asked God for forgiveness.

The ad ends with Graham declaring, "Keep clear of people like that."

Evangelicals for Harris spent more than $1 million on the new ad campaign, according to the Christian Post, and now the group may be facing a lawsuit.

After the ad's release, lawyers for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reportedly sent Evangelicals for Harris multiple letters, including a cease-and-desist notice.

One letter, the Religious News Service reported, even threatened a lawsuit on the basis of copyright infringement.

In a statement, the BGEA confirmed it shared its concerns with Evangelicals for Harris about "unauthorized, political use of BGEA’s copyrighted video."

"It may be worth noting that, in all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word. He never criticized presidents publicly and would undoubtedly refuse to let his sermons be used to do so, regardless of who is involved," the statement explained.

In response, Evangelicals for Harris claimed Franklin Graham is using the "Trump playbook" to "silence" the group and argued that the use of the Billy Graham sermon is protected under the Copyright Act.

"Franklin is scared of our ads because we do not tell people what to do or think. We merely hold Trump’s own words up to the light of Scripture, the necessity of repentance, and Biblical warnings against leaders exactly like Trump," the group said in a statement.

"If Franklin follows through on his threats, we’ll see him in court," Evangelicals for Harris said.

While Evangelicals for Harris may indeed think they are holding up Trump to the "light of scripture," the group fails to do the same for Vice President Kamala Harris.

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