The reaction has been pouring out following Rev. Franklin Graham’s criticism of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg because he is gay.
In a series of tweets, Graham, who has spent years attacking the LGBTQ community, warned the Indiana mayor that he would suffer “eternal damnation” for his sins.
Mayor Buttigieg says he’s a gay Christian. As a Christian I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman—not two men, not two women. 2/3
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) April 24, 2019
“Just shut up! You are a disgrace! You are a disgrace for normalizing Donald Trump’s behavior!”
That was MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough’s response to Graham for urging Buttigieg to “repent.”
This was an outrage to Scarborough who told Graham to stop condemning someone’s sexuality when he has supported a man in Donald Trump who has repeatedly cheated on his many wives, an act otherwise known as adultery in the Bible.
Scarborough pointed out that Graham has claimed that a president’s personal character isn’t important when people criticize Trump’s morality but seems perfectly fine attacking a gay Democrat.
“These evangelical leaders, they are now using their positions to gain political power and apologize for Donald Trump!” Scarborough said. “Now suddenly Franklin Graham’s talking about lifestyles and sinning, and a guy who has gone through a very difficult personal journey to figure out who he really is, he’s criticizing them for that?”
The former congressman turned TV host explained that if Graham wasn’t so hypocritical it would be okay for him to express his anti-gay views as part of his religious beliefs, but he has criticized mayor Pete Buttigieg, and years earlier, former president Bill Clinton for their personal lifestyles yet gives a pass to Trump.
Scarborough has not been the only left-leaning personality bashing Graham for his outdated views. Namely, many celebrity and ordinary people took to Twitter to denounce the son of the famous Billy Graham. Everyone from the Fonz to Andy Cohen came to Mayor Pete’s defense.
God loves everyone. He is gonna have stern words for you though.
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) April 25, 2019
Washington Post journalist, Eugene Scott, tweeted: “Franklin Graham on Trump’s alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels: ‘We just have to give the man the benefit of the doubt.'”
The star of the 1970s hit show “Happy Days,” Henry Winkler just needed one word to get his point across, “Why???”
This outburst by Graham could be angst over how many Americans are turning away from organized religion. Since 1976, Americans going to church or any place of worship has plummeted from 70 to 52 percent in 2018.
