Evangelicals for Harris apologize for use of Billy Graham in political ad

The political group Evangelicals for America publicly apologized to the Billy Graham Evangelical Association earlier this week after its PAC used clips of Rev. Billy Graham’s preaching in its political advertisements. The political action committee, Evangelicals for Harris, released two ads several months before the 2024 election featuring archival clips of the late Rev. Graham in implied opposition to clips of the then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

What did the PAC say in the apology? Evangelicals for America said in a statement that, when it produced the advertisements, it thought the use of clips met the U.S. Copyright Act’s Fair Use criteria. It used them without asking the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. The PAC never intended to infringe on the association’s copyright or give the impression that Rev. Graham would have publicly sided with one political candidate over another, the statement continued. 

Evangelicals for America thanked the association for continued dialogue and reaffirmed that Rev. Graham never politicized the gospel of Jesus Christ. The late reverend aimed to share the gospel with all people regardless of their political ideology, the statement added. Evangelicals for America took down the ads at issue and planned not to repost them.

The Billy Graham Evangelical Association reached out to WORLD directly to share the PAC’s apology. 

Dig deeper: Read my previous report about the Billy Graham Evangelical Association sending a cease and desist letter to the PAC last October.