Thread 👇
In 1969, when Raphael Warnock was born, the Georgia governor was Lester Maddox, who became famous for chasing away at gunpoint three Black seminary students coming to his chicken restaurant in 1964—after the Civil Rights Act.
Martin Luther King Jr. was very upset when Maddox won the race for governor in 1966. The Klu Klux Klan had supported Maddox. A Baptist (like King), Maddox believed segregation was "Christian and American." He did not allow King's body to lie in state at the State Capitol in 1968.
Bob Jones University gave him an honorary doctorate in 1969.
Maddox was born in 1915 and died in 2003. My Grandma was also born in 1915 and is still alive at 105.
Stacey Abrams lost by 1.4% in the 2018 Georgia governor's race. She helped Warnock win the Senate seat in 2021.
Stacey Abrams
Truett McConnell University president.
Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia.
Dick DeVos, Betsy's husband, is the chair of the board of the Global Leadership Network (Willow Creek Association) that runs The Global Leadership Summit. Nancy Beach, Jon Wallace, and Kara Powell resigned in 2015 because the Board would not investigate Bill Hybels.
And Betsy's brother is Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater. Blackwater employees slaughtered Iraqis. Trump pardoned them in December 2020.
The DeVos theme is defending unethical behavior in order to make money and get done what the DeVos family thinks needs to get done. The ends justify the means.
Betsy DeVos is resigning so she does not need to keep a man accountable.
The board of Samaritan’s Purse should make him resign. He has no business being part of an international Christian relief organization. And if you support Operation Christmas Child, stop. You’re just enriching Franklin Graham and his whole family.
And here are the 2019 Board of Directors at Samaritan’s Purse. Jerry Prevo, who was chair of the board of trustees at Liberty University under Jerry Falwell Jr., is one. Skip Heitzig is another. Only 12 of the 18 “are independent.”
Thread on Samaritan’s Purse financial information:
Thread of notes comparing the 990 tax forms of – Samaritan's Purse (2019). CEO: Franklin Graham. – World Vision (2018). CEO: Edgar Sandoval Sr., previously Rich Stearns. – Compassion International (2018). CEO: Santiago "Jim" Mellado. 👇
I just looked at Franklin Graham's recent Facebook posts. As usual, he picks out some obscure gesture by someone functioning in our pluralist (not all are Christians) society and declares it an outrage. And he praises politicians like Trump, Cruz, and Pompeo for their "stands." https://t.co/B8W8t4jozB
Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan's Purse—"providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world." This Facebook post is among the least Christian things I have ever seen. He is blind. The Board should ask him to resign.https://t.co/uMNNqIcZQUpic.twitter.com/EOYwBwA5QP
Franklin Graham is acting like a troll here—purposefully misconstruing what Jake Tapper said. Tapper is, along with the whole world, disappointed that holiday plans are being disrupted by covid-19. Here was Tapper's response to this before Graham tweeted: https://t.co/qxjZw9Gdifhttps://t.co/PZEsy7GMWx
Here is the #1 post from @Franklin_Graham. He gives the story a partisan spin—giving Trump credit. Unlike all the other companies, Pfizer did not take money from the government for development, but is being paid for manufacturing and distribution.https://t.co/5h57DkEV9fpic.twitter.com/iscz8wKhE8
Franklin Graham & Trump's tax returns thread: "In 2017, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association paid at least $397,602 to the Washington hotel, where the group held at least one event during its four-day World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians." https://t.co/PEDR1Z5Tcp
Here is his outrageous Facebook post from yesterday:
Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan's Purse—"providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world." This Facebook post is among the least Christian things I have ever seen. He is blind. The Board should ask him to resign.https://t.co/uMNNqIcZQUpic.twitter.com/EOYwBwA5QP
The framing of this story is about Billy Graham's family. But the real issue is Franklin Graham's daily misuse of his position as the leader of a relief organization and an evangelism organization to launch—often untruthful— attacks on Democrats and then ask people to pray. https://t.co/M2zPn2rEpd
People are not evaluating Franklin Graham by his father's legacy. They are asking whether a leader of Christian relief and evangelism organizations should be Trump's chief of Christian propaganda— negative ads framed as posts on Facebook, Trump prayer rallies, and photo-ops.
Franklin Graham & Trump’s tax returns thread:
“In 2017, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association paid at least $397,602 to the Washington hotel, where the group held at least one event during its four-day World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians.”
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association paid $397,602 whereas “celebrations at the Trump International Hotel for a crowd of several hundred can run from $40,000 to $60,000, according to cost estimates from the hotel seen by Reuters.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-hotel-idUSKBN1640LE @JuliaHarte1
Why is Franklin Graham directing almost $400,000 to Donald Trump? Is this furthering evangelism? Is it helping persecuted Christians? Do people giving to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association think that their money is going personally to Donald Trump?
Note that Franklin Graham’s Billy Graham Evangelistic Association no longer files a 990 disclosure form https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/410692230 because it maintains it is legally “a church” and so does need to not disclose financials like other non-profit organizations.
8/ Franklin was paid $636,451 + $59,742 in other compensation from Samaritan's Purse in 2018; and $205,999 + $52,678 from BGEA in 2014. Since 2014, he has not had to disclose his BGEA income because it is designated for tax purposes as an "association of churches."
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association does file a revenue and expenditures list with @ecfa but that is useless for any form of accountability or transparency.
– Trump also used the Trump Foundation to give to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 2012.
– Trump himself had stopped donating to his own Trump Foundation in 2008.
– The Trump Foundation was shut down in 2019 and fined $2 million because it was not used for charity.
After Franklin Graham voiced support of Trump running for president in 2011, the Trump Foundation gave the Billy Graham Evangelical Association $100,000 in 2012 and Samaritan’s Purse $25,000, and $10,000 in 2013.
Franklin Graham did a prayer rally on Saturday in Washington DC with a number of Republican Trump promoters. Trump gave to Franklin and Franklin gave to Trump. And Franklin runs two charities that are not supposed to support specific candidates and hides the BGEA finances.
Fun fact: I was at the dedication of the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois 40 years ago in Sep 1980 when I was 5. Billy Graham made clear he was not endorsing Ronald Reagan or Jimmy Carter though Carter sent a telegram and Barbara Bush (wife of Reagan’s VP candidate) came.
Read to the end of today’s NYT piece on Trump’s Swamp for several stories about evangelical & Charismatic ministries that have gladly bought into the influence peddling scheme that floats the Trump Org. https://t.co/0CY9LBrwC9pic.twitter.com/21dlqy9Tm5
Franklin Graham has shown himself to be utterly ignorant about or callous about public health, endangering thousands. If he has not been infected himself, he is very fortunate because he was in contact with four who tested positive.
Photos of Franklin Graham on Saturday, September 26.
Franklin Graham is promoting conspiracy theories again. https://t.co/C93jHhASMD Graham is one of the most influential people on Facebook and he uses his platform to promote intellectual garbage.