Tributes to Billy Graham from Trump and US political leaders
● ‘America’s pastor’ honoured at Washington ceremony
American political leaders bowed their heads for a solemn salute yesterday to the Rev. Billy Graham in the soaring Capitol Rotunda, paying tribute to a man who ministered to presidents and others of both parties.
“Here lies America’s pastor,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan, gesturing to Graham’s coffin under the eye of the dome, surrounded by family, friends, politicians and a ring of paintings of the nation’s founders. “He ministered to all walks, from some of the greats whose statues line this hall – Eisenhower, King, Ford, and Reagan – to the everyday citizens lining up today to pay their respects.”
President Donald Trump said his father was an admirer of Graham’s and that the “legendary” American figure deserved to be recognized in the place “where the memory of the American people is enshrined”. Graham’s influence stretched far beyond the city where he counseled politicians to a global flock over the better part of seven decades.
“The man we recognise today shared the Gospel with more people, face-to-face, than anyone else in history,” said Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconnell.
As the leaders stood by the coffin, Trump reached out to touch the bare wood and Ryan bowed his head.
Graham died a week earlier at the age of 99. some 30 family members accompanied Graham’s coffin to Washington, where he befriended presidents of both parties and counselled others over seven decades. Graham’s son, Franklin, tweeted a photo Wednesday of family members loading the coffin on to a jet emblazoned with “Samaritan’s Purse,” the name of a Christian relief charity that he chairs.
Graham is lying in honour before a funeral tomorrow near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Rotunda entrances were draped with black fabric, and Graham’s coffin rested on a blackdraped catafalque beneath the soaring ceiling and its painting, the Apotheosis of Washington.
Though he had met every president since Harry Truman and counselled most, Graham grew wary of politics after Watergate. He was closest to Richard Nixon but later said he felt used by him.
Nonetheless, Graham ministered to other presidents until his health began to fail about ten years ago.
Former president Bill Clinton recalled seeing one of Graham’s crusades as a child, a profound experience that became more amazing over his life. Graham counselled him as Arkansas governor, and later at the White House.
“In that little room, he was the same person I saw when I was 11 on that football field,” Clinton said on Tuesday after viewing the coffin at Graham’s home.
Former president George W Bush and his wife Laura also visited Graham’s home on Tuesday.
In Washington, Ryan said there had been no doubt that Graham would receive the honour of a public viewing in the Rotunda. He told reporters that almost immediately upon hearing of Graham’s death he, Trump, Mcconnell and Rep. Patrick Mchenry, who represents the Graham family’s district, agreed it would happen.
Graham shares the honour with 11 presidents and other distinguished Americans, starting with Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky in 1852 and, most recently, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii in 2012, according to the House and the Architect of the Capitol.
Graham is only the fourth private person to lie in honour since 1998. The others are two US Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty in 1998 and civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.
Trump met Graham at the pastor’s 95th birthday party in 2013, but is closer to Franklin Graham Jr.
Trump is due to attend Graham’s funeral tomorrow.