Speaking to Christian outlet Premier Christian News in a statement, evangelical Christian legend Reverend Franklin Graham provided some very vital context on why President Donald Trump did not swear his oaths as president on any Bible during the Monday, January 20th inauguration ceremony in the nation’s Capitol.
As could be expected, the incident had sparked a firestorm of speculation among Christians online, as many took it to mean that the president either didn’t care about the Christian faith or was snubbing it in some way through the move. Reverend Graham, however, insisted that the omission of the Bible had no spiritual significance and was simply an issue of timing.
Speaking to Premier Christian News about the matter, Rev. Graham said, noting the matter of timing, that he was already behind and so had to go through with it despite the Bible not yet being there. As he put it: “You’re supposed to be sworn in by 12, and I think it was now 1201, and so that was just kind of hurried, and didn’t have time.”
Continuing, the reverend commented on another incident with the Bible that occurred shortly thereafter: During the ceremony, First Lady Melania Trump could be seen bringing the Bible to her husband. However, despite it then being there, Trump did not place his hand on it as he began to swear his oath to the country before God.
Revered Graham, who performed a prayer during the ceremony, spoke about that as well. He said that blame lay with Justice Kavanaugh, who began the oath taking before Melania could get there with the Bible. As he put it: “Justice Kavanaugh started administering the oath before Melania even got up there with the Bibles, which, you know, it was just an awkward situation, but it wasn’t intentional, I promise.”
Continuing, the reverend and noted evangelical pastor, known for his allyship with President Trump and his commitment to spreading and defending the Christian faith, noted that President Trump remains committed to the Christian faith. He said that the president knows he “cannot do his job without God” and is confident that he will “listen to the Christians” while in office.
Further, Reverend Graham contrasted Trump with Biden, saying that Trump will listen to Christians and take their concerns in mind, whereas Biden was seemingly implacably opposed to Christians. He said, “Biden was not friendly at all to people of faith. But Trump has always been friendly, and he’s going to listen to the Christians.”
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Additionally, Reverend Graham noted that President Trump has “some wonderful Christians in his cabinet, people who love God.” He went on to note that his role within the administration, as a member of the faith and prominent pastor, is “to pray and to encourage people to pray for [Trump]”. Graham noted, “If he asks me a question, I’ll answer it, but I want to encourage people to pray for him because he cannot do his job without God.”