Franklin Graham speaks at the Republican National Convention on 27 August, 2020. (Getty/ Drew Angerer)
Franklin Graham was predictably outraged to hear that Joe Biden had lifted Trump’s ban on LGBT+ flags being flown at US embassies.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken announced on Friday (April 23) that all US diplomatic outposts would be authorised to fly the Pride flag, overturning a Trump-era ban just in time for Pride month.
The happy news was celebrated by LGBT+ advocates around the world, but it spelled sheer doom for Franklin Graham, who urged his followers to pray for America.
“Just because something is ‘authorised,’ that doesn’t make it right!” the notorious anti-LGBT+ preacher whined on Facebook.
“Why should a flag representing one group of people and a specific agenda be literally raised up above all others and allowed to fly at our embassies and consulates?”
He contended that since the rarely-used Christian flag is not flown from US embassies (yes, it exists), the LGBT+ flag should also not be displayed.
“The embassies represent the United States of America on foreign soil – only the US flag should be flown,” he said. “Not the gay Pride flag, not the Christian flag, not any other flag. The previous administration had a one-flag rule that the Biden administration has rescinded.
“Our US flag represents the sacrifice, the honour, the unity, the patriotism – and the blood – that made America great. Pray for our nation and our leaders.”
Meanwhile, 77-year-old right-wing pundit Newt Gingrich took a more heated tone as he launched into an angry rant on Fox News’ Justice with Judge Jeanine on Saturday (24 April).
“If you listed every idiotic thing that the Biden administration has done in the first 100 days, you’d begin to realise it’s threatening everybody who believes in the Second Amendment, or it’s attacking everybody who believes in right to life, or it is attacking people of traditional values who are appalled that this administration would fly the gay flag at American embassies all over the world,” he said.
“You just go down item by item and it’s almost like they have a checklist of what can we do that will really truly infuriate traditional Americans.”
Unfortunately for Newt, we checked the facts and most Americans really aren’t infuriated by the sight of a rainbow flag. Fancy that.
