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Billy Graham's granddaughter Jerushah Duford says supporting Trump has made her church a 'laughing stock'

'I have spent my entire life in the church, with every big decision guided by my faith, but now, I feel homeless'

Jerushah Duford, one of the granddaughters of late evangelical leader Billy Graham, feels that current church leaders are disrespecting Graham's memory by continuing to support President Donald Trump.

“I have spent my entire life in the church, with every big decision guided by my faith. But now, I feel homeless,” Duford wrote in an op-ed for USA Today. “Like so many others, I feel disoriented as I watch the church I have always served turn their eyes away from everything it teaches. I hear from Christian women on a daily basis who all describe the same thing: a tug at their spirit.”

Duford said she felt an unpleasant "tug" after listening to Trump's recent comments about scrapping a controversial Obama-era rule meant to "quash segregation" and "provide low-income housing," per the Hill. “Jesus said repeatedly to defend the poor and show kindness and compassion to those in need. Our president continues to perpetuate an us-versus-them narrative, yet almost all of our church leaders say nothing,” she continued.

According to Duford, the silence from church leaders was proof that marginalized communities are “no longer valued by individuals claiming to uphold the values my grandfather taught.” She also criticized Trump's famous walk through Lafayette Square to St John's Church in Washington, DC amid violent protests in front of the White House. “He held a Bible, something so sacred to all of us, yet he treated that Bible with a callousness that would offend anyone intimately familiar with the words inside it,” Duford wrote. “He believed that action would honor him and only him. However, the church, designed to honor God, said nothing.”

According to her, the church she was raised in has become a "laughing stock" due to their support for the Trump administration. Duford also noted there were tensions within her own family over supporting the president. “We represent God before we represent any political party or leader. When we fail to remember this, we are minimizing the role He created for us to fill,” she wrote. “Jesus loved women; He served women; He valued women and we need to give ourselves permission to stand up and do the same.”

Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99 after becoming a national phenomenon for his televised sermons and crusades. An ordained Southern Baptist minister from North Carolina, Graham served as a counselor to several presidents and was lovingly known as “America’s Pastor.”

Franklin Graham, his second-youngest son and Duford’s uncle, took over his ministries in 2002 and is a fervent supporter of Trump. Speaking to Newsweek, Duford revealed she hasn't spoken to her uncle, but said: “his voice was a large reason for my speaking out.”

It's worth noting that Duford's emotional op-ed comes just days after she joined anti-Trump PAC Lincoln Women, a new coalition formed by The Lincoln Project. The organization, which claims to be Republican, opposes the commander-in-chief and canvasses votes for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

“Honored to have met and to stand with powerful women who can no longer ignore the tug in their spirit when they look at our country,” Duford wrote on Twitter at the time of joining the coalition.