Evangelical leader Franklin Graham recently made the rounds on national television trying to convince its supporters to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but on Tuesday CNN’s Brianna Keilar decided to address the issue of vaccine misinformation – which is rife among conservative evangelicals – Associate disinformation with the problem of elections – which is also widespread among conservative evangelicals, and holds feet in the fire for his part in the lie that Donald Trump won the election.
Graham was a source of disinformation about elections. As recently as January 4, two days before the deadly uprising, he said it “seems reasonable to me” that Republican senators “do not vote … to confirm the results of the presidential elections until an examination of the states in question is available.”
On December 28th, he also spread disinformation about elections:
Lots of people believe @realDonaldTrump the presidential election was stolen, and if Conservatives lose control of the Senate, there is nothing that can stop the left’s radical agenda. There won’t be another chance to get this right. The nation depends on you. 2/2
– Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) December 28, 2020
On December 19, Graham spread election fraud and other pro-Trump falsehoods:
Since the 2016 election, @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has been falsely accused, slandered and attacked. He told us that his campaign was being spied on. He was right. He told us there was no collusion. He was right. When he says that choice was rigged or stolen, I tend to believe him.
– Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) December 19, 2020
These are just a few of the times Graham helped spread the lie that the election was stolen.
Keilar didn’t specifically mention it, but she said that “the disinformation we are seeing is fueling vaccination reluctance among evangelicals is really part of a larger disinformation problem that involves you knowing lies about the outcome of the.” [2020] Election Trump, not Biden, won what many evangelicals believe they gave life to. Do you regret having publicly doubted the result? “
Graham insisted that “73 million Americans out there have some election concerns. Look, I think it is time we moved on, the elections are over and we have to get on the path to move the country forward. President Biden is the President. “
She didn’t let him off the hook that easily.
“It’s not over yet, sir, respectfully,” Keilar insisted. “Reverend, respectful, for a lot of people it’s not over yet. Ain’t it, I mean, we’re going to watch this exam in Arizona. So how do you sort it out so you don’t believe what you said earlier in December about believing Trump when he said it was rigged? “
Graham repeated his previous answer.
“More than 73 million people out there who feel there was weird business going on in this election,” he falsely claimed. While 60% of Republicans believe the election was stolen, that’s not 73 million people.
“I moved to Brianna. We’re trying to save lives. We have a real crisis ahead of us and I want to work with the Biden administration if we can try to get information out that can save lives. And for me the election is behind us, President Biden won, he is sworn in and let’s just get on with it, ”Graham insisted.
“With all due respect, sir, I understand you are saying that, but there are people who doubt the outcome of the election, we are not going ahead, and many people, including you, have told them essentially not or should they.” Do not question the result of this election, you have done it more than a month after the result of the election. Are you, are you standing corrected? Is what you said wrong? “
“No, I don’t think it’s wrong Brianna, I just think it’s so. We have 73 million – “
“So you’re saying Joe Biden didn’t win the election, but you’re moving on? I just want to be very clear about what you are saying. “
“No, no, let’s be very clear. I said I’m going on. He’s the president and if he needs our support he needs our prayers, ”Graham said, refusing to admit that he was wrong.
“Okay sir, I’m just saying a lot of people haven’t moved on, they believe, as you put it, to have concerns about the choice, a lot of them believe it was inaccurate, and there have been people in positions of power including you even that gave them reason to believe, “said Keilar, again putting the blame on Graham,” but you see, sir. We are definitely happy to have you. “
Clock:
Rev. @Franklin_Graham says taking the Covid-19 vaccine is a “personal choice,” but he encourages people to do so, especially in his evangelical community.
“I think they are learning … and I think they will take it,” he adds. Https://t.co/RZ9kPPNydR pic.twitter.com/z6vU8CStgy
– New Day (@NewDay) May 18, 2021
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