On a latest Tuesday, ‘Evangelicals for America’, initially known as ‘Evangelicals for Harris’, offered a public acknowledgment of wrongdoing for employing recordings of the revered evangelist Rev. Billy Graham in political promotional content in favor of the then Vice President Kamala Harris, during the contentious 2024 elections. Astoundingly, the group admitted that they had not asked for permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) before they audaciously infringed on the rights to use these historical clips.
‘With the 2024 elections drawing closer, the political campaign of ‘Evangelicals for Harris’, under the banner of Evangelicals for America PAC, had unfortunately created numerous ads with clips sourced from Rev. Billy Graham’s vital speeches. Such an absurd move was performed under the illusion that using these clips, regardless of the lack of prior approval from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), would not violate the standards of Fair Use as outlined in the US Copyright Act,’ the group pathetically tried to justify.
However, the BGEA stood its ground and challenged these political adverts, arguing that by using the video clips of Graham for political objectives without due consent, the group had clearly surpassed their boundaries and infringed upon BGEA’s copyright. ‘Our motivation was never to misuse BGEA’s copyright or to wrongly suggest that Rev. Graham would have publicly supported any particular political candidate over another in an election race, and so we regret our mistake deeply,’ the ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ confessed.
This quarrel originated after the group published a range of disparaging ads targeted at Trump using video footage of the late evangelist, another distasteful tactic. One particular promotional ad audaciously contrasted Graham’s sermons about confessions with an unrelated 2015 interview where Trump questioned whether he had ever asked for God’s forgiveness.
Rev. Franklin Graham, elder son of Billy Graham and the current president of Samaritan’s Purse and the BGEA, openly criticized such moves by ‘Evangelicals for America’. ‘The leftists will stop at nothing to rally behind candidate Harris. They went to the extent of misusing my father Billy Graham’s image to create a political ad,’ proclaimed the frustrated Graham.
‘They are blatantly trying to manipulate people. Perhaps they are oblivious to the fact that my father held strong conservative values and favored President Trump’s policies in 2016, and if he were still here today, his views and thought processes would undoubtedly be unwavering,’ Graham asserted, refuting the group’s frivolity.
During October, in an attempt to save face, the group pledged to counteract any legal challenges from the BGEA passively. However, subsequent months saw a dramatic retreat. Not only did they withdraw the offensive ads, but they also acquiesced not to misuse any more clips belonging to Graham or his organization without explicit consent.
Evangelicals for America uttered in their statement, ‘We hope that these steps taken and our pledge not to misuse Rev. Billy Graham within a partisan electoral context will highlight the confusion about the message in our original ads. We are committed to promoting Christian dialogue about political engagement, underlining the importance of maintaining unity despite our differences.’
On their part, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association stated, ‘The group’s apology is self-explanatory, as is the original response from Franklin Graham. The outcome of this ordeal is a relief for us all.’ This response firmly established the organization’s commitment to preserving Reverend Billy Graham’s legacy.
Reportedly, ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ squandered well over a million dollars on ads intending to appeal to religious voters in swing states. The illy conceived strategy proposed that Harris’ policy decisions and character were a more accurate reflection of Christian values than those of Trump, a claim many saw as laughably misguided.
Severe critics of this group underlined that such an expensive ad campaign only resulted in further alienating the voting segment they sought to win over. Analogies were drawn to spending one’s efforts and money on shining a tarnished image, instead of building something substantial with a solid foundation of values and principles.
Such miscalculations and misguided actions on part of ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ only served to undermine any credibility the group initially held among voters. The narrative around their activities switched from hopeful ambition to keen followers of political winds, willing to bend their ethical and moral principles when politically convenient.
In the world of Evangelicals, this was a faith test for many. And for them, seeing a revered figure like Rev. Billy Graham being used as a political pawn served as a harsh reminder of the ease with which political ambitions could corrupt sacred institutions and dilute religious discourse.
In conclusion, the group’s public apology and withdrawal of the unauthorized ads only added another stain to the already questionable political actions of those representing Harris and her party. It served as a stark example of the pitfalls of entrusting too much faith in political groups keen on manipulating religious sentiments for their Machiavellian goals.