Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of the late Billy Graham and a leading evangelical figure close to Donald Trump’s administration, doesn’t believe the president “knowingly” depicted himself as a Christ-like figure in a now-deleted AI-generated image.
In a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump depicted himself in a white robe and red sash with a glowing outstretched hand placed on the forehead of a man in a hospital bed. The president later said it showed “me as a doctor.”
In a statement shared with The Independent, Graham condemned what he called “ill-intended speculation” about the president’s image, standing in stark contrast to backlash from other faith leaders — including conservative evangelicals — who accused him of grotesque blasphemy and making a mockery of holy symbols to serve a political agenda.
“When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some,” Graham said.
“There were no spiritual references — no halo, there were no crosses, no angels,” he added. “I think this is a lot to do about nothing. There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad.”
Graham said he did not believe Trump “would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ — that would certainly be inappropriate.”
“I’m thankful the president has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing — he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post,” Graham added.
Graham, a prominent evangelist and president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has been allied with the president through both of his administrations.
He recently appeared at the White House with other Christian pastors, including Robert Jeffress, one of Trump’s longtime religious advisers who leads First Baptist Church in Dallas, to celebrate Easter.
On Palm Sunday, Trump shared a letter from Graham on his social media platform that addressed the president’s suggestion that he thought he was going to hell. “I don’t think there’s anything gonna get me in heaven, OK?” Trump speculated on Air Force One last year.
In response, Graham wrote: “Maybe you responded in jest, but it is an important issue to know for certain that your soul is secure and will spend eternity in the presence of God.”
At last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, Graham said, “love Donald Trump” and “we’ll never get another president” like him.
“That’s why it’s important that we do everything that we can to try to get him reelected,” he said.
Graham said he “misspoke” in a statement immediately after his remarks.
His latest comments follow a wave of bipartisan outrage from conservative Christian commentators and pastors who have otherwise aligned with the president’s agenda.
But evangelical figures close to the president have thus far either declined to weigh in publicly or have opened the door for Trump to consider the episode a teachable moment.
A fragile alliance between conservative Catholics and evangelicals has been increasingly tested by the president’s growing hostility towards Pope Leo XIV and Catholic leadership as well as the administration’s characterization of war with Iran as a Christian calling.
“I’m not a Catholic, I’m an evangelical, but I appreciate how President Trump has defended religious freedom for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in the U.S. and around the world,” Graham said in his statement.
“He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime and he doesn’t shy away from it,” he added. “I would hope that the President and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the Pope would have the opportunity to thank the President for his efforts to protect religious liberty.”
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