A political organization called Evangelicals for Harris, now renamed Evangelicals for America following Kamala Harris’ catastrophic presidential election loss in 2024, has posted online a multipage apology for improperly using Billy Graham’s image for their politics.
The organization had used images of the late Christian leader who was in the confidence of presidents for the last 50 years in promoting Harris, who advocated deliberately for the transgender and LGBT ideologies that many Christians find unbiblical and objectionable.
The Billy Graham Evangelical Associated pointed out the misuse, and abuse of copyright law, and a year later the Harris organization has apologized.
Among the ads released:
EXCLUSIVE: Evangelicals For Harris drops their first media spot TODAY in an effort to win over some of those “on-the-fence” Conservative Evangelicals in swing states who are lukewarm when it comes to Donald Trump. You can watch it here first before it’s officially released. Many… pic.twitter.com/zhLUpA3CWU
— David Brody (@DBrodyReports) August 14, 2024
Now the backtracking:
— Evangelicals For America (@Evangels4Amer) July 8, 2025
The BGEA response when the images were illegally used:
Franklin Graham SLAMS “Evangelicals for Harris” for using clip of his father, Billy Graham, in an attack ad against Donald Trumphttps://t.co/Dcnm8Av96H
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) August 15, 2024
Now the development this week:
“Evangelicals For Harris” is running for cover and retracting an ad campaign that used the words of Billy Graham to vilify Trump in last year’s election.
The group said it did not intend to imply that Billy Graham (who voted for Trump in 2016) “would have taken a side in… pic.twitter.com/cgS7plHFg0
— Tayte Christensen (@Tayte_cc) July 10, 2025
The online apology admits that the organization used clips of Rev. Graham without permission and claimed they weren’t trying to “give the impression that Rev. Graham would have taken a side in publicly supporting one political candidate over another.”
The group concedes that Graham “never politicized the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the works he created through BGEA.”
“We appreciate the spirit in which BGEA has approached this matter … and we affirm its intellectual property rights including copyright in these videos, and its missional interest in protecting Rev. Graham’s legacy.”
It continued, “We have taken down and will not repost our ads that incorporated video clips of Rev. Billy Graham…”
Not the Bee explained, “The long and short of it is that they used these clips of Billy Graham, but didn’t get permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) to use them in their political attack ads. To avoid being sued into oblivion for lifting these clips and using them for partisan purposes to support an abortion-loving Democratic candidate, they’ve apologized.”
When the dispute arose, WND had reported on Billy Graham’s lifelong interactions with presidents, of both political parties:
He was offered government posts by Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and politely said no.
Harry S. Truman not only met with Graham, he received him as his Independence, Missouri, home. Dwight Eisenhower asked him about sending troops into Little Rock during a time of civil unrest. John F. Kennedy met with Graham before he was inaugurated.
Graham was invited to the Johnson family ranch multiple times, and spent more than 20 nights in the White House during his presidency. Graham had known Nixon for years, and the president often asked Graham to pray with him. Gerald Ford explained, “I’ve heard the comments from some sources that Billy mixes politics with religion. I never felt that and I don’t think that thousands and thousands of people who listen to him felt that.”
Jimmy Carter was an honorary chair of an Atlanta Crusade by Billy Graham back in his day, Ronald Reagan once said, “It was through Billy Graham that I found myself praying even more than on a daily basis … and that in the position I held, that my prayers more and more were to give me the wisdom to make decisions that would serve God and be pleasing to Him.” George H. W. Bush called Graham “an inspiration in my life.”
Bill Clinton credited Billy Graham with refusing to racially segregate a crusade audience. George W. Bush said a turning point in his faith came during a private talk with Billy Graham in 1985. Graham said he was pleased to have had Barack Obama visit in his home.
At the time, Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son and now chief of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said, “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 to help promote her—or rather to try to make Donald J. Trump look bad.
“They are trying to mislead people. Maybe they don’t know that my father was a firm supporter of President Trump in 2016. He appreciated the conservative values and policies of President Trump, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed.
“President Trump isn’t perfect—none of us are—but I believe he has changed over the years. This recent assassination attempt has had a huge impact on him—and I thank God that his life was spared.”