Franklin Graham Backs Herschel Walker’s Senate Run Despite Wildly Violent Past

I figured this was going to happen, but even I didn’t expect evangelist Franklin Graham to do it this irresponsibly.

Yesterday, Graham effectively endorsed Herschel Walker, the former football star, as the next senator from Georgia. He’s the likely Republican frontrunner challenging Sen. Raphael Warnock. Graham obviously made sure everyone knew about Walker’s faith.

Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker is running again — but this time it’s not as a running back for the Georgia Bulldogs or the NFL. This time he’s running for all the people of Georgia! Announcing his desire to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate, Herschel said, “Our country is at a crossroads, and I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore. America is the greatest country in the world, but too many politicians in Washington are afraid to say that.” I agree! I’ve encouraged Christians across this country to run for political office and make a difference — and I’m thankful that people like Herschel are doing just that. I met Herschel on a Kyle Petty charity motorcycle ride a few years ago, and I think a lot of him. He’s an outspoken Christian, he stands up for conservative values, and he’s got a lot of common sense, so I’m glad to see him step up to serve in this way. God bless him.

Here’s what Graham didn’t mention:

— That Sen. Warnock is also an outspoken Christian and the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once served in a similar role. But none of that seems to matter to Graham because Warnock is the wrong kind of Christian. That is, Warnock is inspired by his faith to help people and defend civil rights while Graham’s vision of Christianity involves mocking, hurting, and discriminating against others.

— That Walker repeatedly threatened the life of his ex-wife — long after he said he became a Christian and abandoned his violent tendencies.

Four years later, in December 2005, Cindy Grossman, Walker’s ex-wife, secured a protective order against him, alleging violent and controlling behavior.

Grossman has said she was long a victim of Walker’s impulses. When his book was released, she told ABC News that at one point during their marriage, her husband pointed a pistol at her head and said, “I’m going to blow your f’ing brains out.” She filed for divorce in 2001, citing “physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior.”

In seeking protection from a judge in Dallas County, Grossman filed an affidavit from her sister, which described Walker as unwilling to accept that his former wife had begun dating another man.

Grossman told the court she got calls during that period from her sister and father, both of whom had been contacted by Walker. He told family members that he would kill her and her new boyfriend, according to Maria Tsettos, Cindy Grossman’s sister.

…

On another occasion, Tsettos said she talked to Walker “at length” after he’d reached out to her online. He “expressed to me that he was frustrated with (Cindy) and that he felt like he had ‘had enough’ and that he wanted to ‘blow their f—— heads off,’” she recalled of the Dec. 9, 2005, exchange.

Just like Christ, this guy…

— That Walker lied about his success in the business world. Walker claimed his chicken company known as Renaissance Man Food Services employed hundreds and made up to $80 million in sales per year, but when he applied for a PPP loan last year, his company reported 8 employees and received under $200,000. Separately, the Associated Press found that he testified in court to his company making $1.5 million a year over the span of a decade — nothing in the tens of millions. Oh, and his colleagues say he cheated them out of money.

— That Walker only registered to vote in Georgia this month. That he barely votes, period. That his current wife allegedly committed voting fraud herself by voting in a state she didn’t live in.

Walker is a Christian liar is what I’m saying. He’s a Christian liar and a horrible human being who has no business running the country.

So naturally, Franklin Graham, who is attracted to frauds masquerading as faith leaders like a fly drawn to bullshit, is fully supportive of the campaign. How many stories about Walker’s horrific past need to come out before Graham decides to sit this one out? Apparently, Walker’s history of lies and violent threats against his ex-wife aren’t enough.