10 Christian reactions to Trump's State of the Union address

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Franklin Graham evangelistic event in Hanoi, Vietnam, photo posted on December 9, 2017. | (Photo: Franklin Graham Facebook)

4. Franklin Graham

Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, took to Facebook to voice his approval of the president’s remarks Tuesday night.

As a conservative, Graham has largely been supportive of Trump’s policies, especially those protecting religious freedom at home and abroad as well as policies that protect the sanctity of life. Graham has also taken part in events attended by prominent evangelical leaders hosted by the Trump White House, including last year’s “state dinner” for evangelical leaders and their wives.

“Thank you Mr. President for covering the priorities of our nation so clearly in tonight’s State of the Union address,” Graham wrote. “It is my prayer that all Americans would support working together in a bipartisan way to solve the problems we face. It’s not about Republican and Democrat — it’s about doing what is right. Thank you for defending freedom and affirming that America will never be a socialist country.”

In his speech, Trump declared that his agenda is neither Republican nor Democrat.

“[I]t is the agenda of the American people,” Trump argued early on in his speech.

“Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises, to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers, to rebuild and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure, to reduce the price of health care and prescription drugs, to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure, and to pursue a foreign policy that puts America’s interests first.”