(OPINION) The granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham recently penned an op-ed in Newsweek endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and accusing former President Donald Trump of being “a megalomaniac.”
“As someone who enjoyed the privilege of growing up around the revered minister Dr. Billy Graham — or as we grandchildren knew him, ‘Daddy Bill’ — I recognize very little in former President Donald Trump of the Christian faith that has inspired my life,” wrote Jerushah Duford, whose mother, Virginia “Gigi” Graham Tchividjian, is Graham’s eldest daughter.
Duford’s op-ed drew kudos on X from figures such as Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George Conway, who is the co-founder of The Lincoln Project. John Weaver, who also founded the anti-Trump organization, stepped down in 2021 after 21 men accused him of online sexual harassment, according to The New York Times.
Duford, whose website describes her as an “LGBTQ+ friendly” licensed professional counselor in Greenville, South Carolina, also has ties to The Lincoln Project and has been outspoken against Trump for years.
“Trump’s words and actions are fundamentally incompatible with evangelical principles,” Duford also wrote in Newsweek. “Contrary to some who claim he has been anointed by God to lead; Trump cannot return the U.S. to faithfulness.”
“Sadly, by embracing such a megalomaniac, Christians have been turning away those who are curious about the Lord. We lose credibility when we say God is love, but then rally, and sometimes even riot, in support of an individual whose entire worldview centers on himself,” she said.
In an op-ed in 2020, she endorsed President Joe Biden and urged Christian women to reject him, claiming “the church honors Trump before God.”
She also made headlines in August when she appeared in a pre-recorded message on an “Evangelicals for Harris” Zoom call, during which she quoted Scripture to imply that Trump supporters are under divine judgment and turning people away from Christianity.
“Voting Kamala, for me, is so much greater than policies,” Duford said during the Zoom call for the political action committee. “It’s a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread.”
Though she made no mention of him in her Newsweek op-ed, Duford’s political stance is in stark contrast to her uncle Franklin Graham, who is Billy Graham’s eldest son and has been an outspoken Trump supporter.
Duford publicly accused Graham earlier this month of abandoning his older sister in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene so that he could meet with Trump to survey storm damage in Valdosta, Georgia.
“I’m glad he had the time and resources to fly to Georgia just so he could stand next to Trump. While his 79 yr old sister, my mom, is stranded with no food or water,” Duford wrote in an Oct. 1 post on X.
