There wasn’t time to get the Bible to President Trump before he was sworn in, says Rev Franklin Graham in a frank interview with Premier. And yes, Trump feels God saved him for a purpose. But if America is to be great again, its people must turn back to Jesus, he says
Just a few minutes before Donald Trump was sworn in as America’s 47th head of state at the Capitol Rotunda, Rev Franklin Graham had the honour of praying for the president, his family and his team.
As the head of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he is also one of the president’s spiritual advisors. He spoke to Premier’s Anna Rees about his hopes for Trump’s second term in office, whether the president avoided swearing on the Bible and what his immigration policies say about his care for the worldwide Church.
What was on your heart when you were preparing for that inaugural prayer?
First of all, you want to honour God. But at the same time, you want the focus of the prayer to be for the president, that God would guide and direct him, and that people would be reminded to pray for him, because we have a responsibility to pray for those that are in authority.
You’ve prayed with President Trump before, accompanied him to events and on the campaign trail. What observations can you share about his character?
Well, I think that assassination attempt had a dramatic impact on him. He’s always been a driven person. He’s an incredibly hard worker, but this time, he’s a little more mellow. He’s toned down a little bit but, at the same time, he’s very focused. I think he realises that God saved his life for a reason.
There are many prominent Christian voices - including the Pope - who disagree with Trump’s immigration policies. He has declared a state of national emergency at the US border with Mexico – which has this week been ranked by Open Doors as the 31st most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Do you think the president will take into account Christian persecution in the global Church when he’s making decisions?
Every country has borders and laws. You can’t go into the UK without permission – the same thing with Russia or China or India or Mexico. The Biden administration allowed the law to be circumvented, and President Trump wants to reinstate that rule of law. I don’t think the Pope understands the problem. He’s flown around in his private jet; I don’t think he has to carry a passport. You have to have law, and I appreciate President Trump bringing it back.
As it relates to our country, he wants to make America great again. He wants to focus on America. Every president and prime minister should be focused on trying to protect their country. President Trump has been demonised by the media for eight years - and finally, the American people woke up and realised that everything the media has been saying has been untrue. In this election, the vast majority of American people voted to support him, regardless of what the media was saying. They just looked at the man and realised: We want this man to lead our country.
The first day, how he signed those 200 executive orders and did all of the other things that he did…the man never tires out. It’s incredible.
Stood behind the president – and also behind you – at the inauguration were some massively influential figures. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos all also have immense worldly wealth, as does Trump. With so much power and wealth in the same hands, do you think Trump has what it takes to give a voice to the poor?
Oh, no question. The Biden administration didn’t want oil drilling, but Trump realises we’ve got more oil than any other country in the world, and if we can make that oil and natural gas available, it’s going to bring fuel prices down. That will bring food prices down, so that helps the poor. If you have a strong economy, your poor are going to be helped. Trump is a realist. Government cannot solve all the problems we face. The government has to make a safe place for business to work, and the people will benefit.
How did it feel for you to have such influential people behind you, listening to your prayer?
I didn’t focus on that. I just focused on trying to honour God, to pray for the president, his family, the leadership, JD Vance - that was my focus. If you focus on who’s listening or who’s watching, that’s just a distraction.
A lot of Christians noticed that Trump didn’t put his hand on the Bible when he was swearing the oath of allegiance during the inauguration service. Was that intentional?
No. Chief Justice Roberts walked up very quickly, and he did not give time for Melania and the family. Trump was supposed to be sworn in by 12, and I think it was 12:01, so he started administering the oath before Melania even got up there with the Bibles, which was just an awkward situation, but it wasn’t intentional.
You are in the privileged position of being a spiritual advisor to the US President for a second time. How are you hoping Trump will grow or relate to the Christian message throughout his second period in office?
Well, President Trump has always been very supportive of the Christian message, supportive of Christians and wanting to defend Christians. The last administration was not friendly at all to people of faith, but Trump is going to listen to Christians. He’s got some wonderful Christian people who love God in his cabinet.
My role is just to pray. If he asks me a question, I’ll answer it, but I also want to encourage people to pray for him, because he cannot do his job without God. America will never be great again if we turn our back on God.
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