Title: Washington Post
Headings: At Trump’s inauguration, Franklin Graham, Cardinal Dolan and four more clergy will pray
At Trump’s inauguration, Franklin Graham, Cardinal Dolan and four more clergy will pray
Content: When Hier’s selection was announced Wednesday, he mused about what his parents — who fled anti-Semitism in Poland and moved to America before the Holocaust — would think about his role. “ Whatever you turn to in the Torah, one can find connections and relevance to whatever period of history human beings live in. So that’s not going to be a challenge.” Advertisement
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Trump chose more clergy than his predecessors, who since 1989 have picked just one or two people to pray at their inaugurations. Graham previously prayed at the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001. The son of famed evangelist Billy Graham who now runs the association named for his father and the charity Samaritan’s Purse, Graham defended Trump throughout his campaign against charges that the businessman went against Christian values. When many Republicans were expressing disgust in October over the release of a tape showing Trump speaking crudely about women on the set of Access Hollywood, Graham wrote on Facebook, “The crude comments made by Donald J. Trump more than 11 years ago cannot be defended. But the godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton likewise cannot be defended. . . .