CNN’s Don Lemon to Rev. Franklin Graham: ‘Why did evangelicals call out Bill Clinton and not Trump?’

On CNN this Tuesday, anchor Don Lemon confronted evangelical leader Franklin Graham on his unwavering support for President Trump in light of all his sex scandals and allegations of sexual misconduct.

The subject on everyone’s mind is the recent story surrounding a payout of $130,000 from Trump’s lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels, allegedly with the purpose of keeping her quiet over an affair she had with Trump just months after his son Barron was born.

“Why do you think Evangelicals were so willing to call out, say, Bill Clinton‘s behavior but not President Trump’s?” Lemon asked Graham.

According to Graham, the difference is that Clinton’s sexual misdeeds took place while he was in office while Trump’s took place years ago.

Lemon countered by pointing out that the payout to Daniels took place as recently as 2016, adding that Trump’s constant lashing out on Twitter is proof enough of his questionable character that doesn’t line up with Christian values.

“You take his rough language,” Graham replied, referring to Trump’s “shithole” remarks immigrants that come African countries. “There’s a lot of presidents that have had rough language. And a lot of these things that have been accused of the president, I’m not sure are true — he says he didn’t do it …”

“But does that make it right because someone else is a sinner or because someone else used bad language?” Lemon interjected. “… Isn’t the president supposed to be a role model for all?”

“Well, you certainly want them to be a role model,” Franklin replied. “But he’s a business man, Don, he’s not a politician. So this is new territory for him.”

“But are you saying business people don’t have morals as well … and they shouldn’t have standards?” Lemon pressed.

“I believe Donald Trump is a good man,” Franklin declared. “I believe he’s president of the United States for a reason — I think God put him there. He offended everybody just like you said. He seemed to do everything wrong as a candidate, and he won. I don’t understand it other than I think God put him there.”

“Donald Trump is not perfect,” Franklin concluded. “He’s not president perfect.”

Watch the exchange in the video below, via CNN:

Featured image via screen grab

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.