‘Evangelicals for Harris’ in late push for votes - but face struggle as vote looms

Although many US evangelicals are backing Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has supporters among them too.

‘Evangelicals for Biden’ has rebranded as ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ in an effort to mobilise Christian voters for her campaign. The group argues that her faith ‘shines through in her clear Christian values displayed in her unwavering support for American families.’

A recent advert produced by the group juxtaposed video excerpts of Billy Graham reading 2 Timothy 3:1-5 with video extracts of Donald Trump speaking. Each segment of the Scripture reading by Graham then cuts to Trump saying something which would appear to be in direct contradiction of the quoted segment of the word of God.

It is understood that since publishing the ad, which is still online and which has attracted tens of millions of views, Evangelicals for Harris has received letters, from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, threatening legal action, including a ‘cease and desist’ letter and the threat of suing on the basis of infringing copyright.

Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, stated: ‘The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris. They even developed a political ad trying to use my father Billy Graham’s image. They are trying to mislead people … Maybe they don’t know that my father appreciated the conservative values and policies of President @realDonaldTrump in 2016, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed.’

In turn, Evangelicals for Harris said: ‘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.’

It added: ‘Franklin knows he cannot use the words of Jesus Christ to defend or justify Trump – a strongman whose words and deeds reject truth, endorse violence, and advocate a worldview in opposition to the Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Indeed, his character is more reflective of the Spirits characterized as anti-christ (1 John 4:2-3, 6-21). Followers of Jesus should study closely which spirits they walk in step with (Gal 5:16-26). Franklin has placed his hope in a man and a darkness we saw manifest when police lines were overrun at our nation’s Capitol on January 6, in Springfield this past month, and in the spirit of fear and anger fed at every Trump rally Franklin attends. Our hope is not in any man or woman but in Christ alone. Our call is to serve, to witness Christ’s love and compassion, and to follow His example of standing between the hypocritical religious leaders and the social outcast. We know the law is on our side in this case. If Franklin follows through on his threats, we’ll see him in court.’

In a Facebook post, it highlighted Vice President Harris’s commitment to family-oriented policies, saying: ‘From advocating for the child tax credit to her pro-family stance throughout her entire career, Kamala has consistently demonstrated her commitment to policies that uplift and empower. She keeps her trusting relationship with God at the centre, sharing: “Like many people of faith, I have private conversations with God where I usually ask for the strength and protection to make good decisions and do the right thing”.’

Created by faith voters, the group cites Harris’s record on infrastructure, healthcare, and climate change, as well as her Baptist background, as reasons for their support. It also holds regular Zoom calls with key speakers endorsing Harris, including Billy Graham’s granddaughter, Jerushah Duford.

But Harris recently found herself under scrutiny after misquoting the Bible during a speech at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh. While discussing the balance between patience and impatience, she referred to what she called the Book of ‘Ecclesiastics’, instead of Ecclesiastes. She joked: ‘That’s not in Ecclesiastics’, admitting the error. But it was quickly picked up on social media, where comments included ‘What Bible is she reading?’

Meanwhile, here in the UK, long-time Christian election forecaster Peter Ould has predicted that Trump will gain 286 electoral college votes – while Harris will gain only 252. His election modelling forecasts the probability of a Trump victory as being 83.12%. This is based on running 10,000 simulations of the election.