Rev. Franklin Graham told Newsmax on Wednesday that the bishop who criticized President Donald Trump at an inaugural prayer service Tuesday is wrong.
Trump demanded an apology after Right Rev. Marianne Budde, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, asked Trump to have "mercy" on immigrants and gay and transgender children.
The bishop has spoken out against Trump before, including in a New York Times opinion piece in 2020 when she wrote she was outraged by his appearance at Washington's St. John's Church "for political purposes" after having Black Lives Matters protesters cleared out of nearby Lafayette Park.
"She was wrong to do that," Graham said on "American Agenda." "That was really a national forum, a national stage pulpit that she was standing in. And for her to use that for her own political agenda was wrong."
The bishop had pleaded with Trump to show compassion toward immigrants, LGBTQ+ children and “the people in our country who are scared now.”
Graham said the Biden administration should be criticized for its failure to show compassion to the immigrants who suffered trying to get into the U.S. after Biden declared the borders were open.
"These people suffered a lot to come here illegally," Graham said. "And the Biden administration is responsible for all of this mess. But the people need to go back and come in legally.
"It has nothing to do with compassion. It's to do what's right to do. If you want to have compassion, then have the law the same for everybody. Don't have a law for one group and another law for another group. No, it's one law fits all."
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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