Evangelist Franklin Graham has urged Christians to vote for a presidential candidate in November - even if it means choosing the "least heathen of the two."
During an interview with CBN in Denver earlier this week, Rev. Graham, who is the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, stated, "I don't care who wins and who's out there, you have to vote."
"And I'm not going to tell people who to vote for, I'm not going to do that - let God tell you who to vote for," he added. "You may have to hold your nose, you may have to decide which is the least heathen of the two heathen."
"There is a left movement within the evangelical community that are telling people, 'If so-and-so wins or this person wins don't vote.' I'm just saying, I don't care who wins and who's out there, you have to vote."
Over the past several months, Graham has traveled across the United States to speak on behalf of his Decision America Tour and encourage Americans to vote for biblical principles.
"I'm going to the capitals of all 50 states this year with the Decision America Tour to hold prayer rallies and urge Christians to get involved in the political process and by all means, VOTE! In the last four presidential elections, an average of less than 5 million votes separated the major candidates-yet, more than 25 million Christians didn't bother to even show up at the polls in 2012," he wrote last week.
However, earlier this week, Graham himself expressed disgust with today's political atmosphere and took aim at presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The former is currently under FBI investigation due to issues surrounding the private email server she had while Secretary of State, and the latter has been accused of inciting violence and heated confrontations at his political rallies.
"What America needs is a Godly revolution! Washington is broken," Graham wrote. "Our nation is broken-politically, spiritually, and morally-and our only hope is Almighty God."
An an interview with CNN's Carol Costello, the evangelist explained that like him, evangelical Christians are angry with the political system, and reiterated that the only thing that can fix the broken system is God.
"There is a lot of anger in this country but I am angry too. I am angry at the Republicans and I am angry at the Democrats," Graham asserted. "They are angry at the government and they are angry at the politicians. They're voted to go to Washington and then they end up doing absolutely nothing, just like the Republicans right before Christmas. They voted on the spending bill and they didn't even try to get anything. They just voted for it and went home. That is the kind of thing that I think the American voter is sick and tired of."
In order to reinsert God back into the American political debate, Graham urged evangelical Christians to do more than just pray but to also run for political office.
"I pray that God will give us leaders, not just in Washington. We need Christian men and women in politics. We need mayors, city council. We need Christians on school boards," Graham explained. "We need Christians at every level and I am encouraging people to run for public office. Run at the local level, the state level. Washington is broken. I think there is a lot we can do at the state level."
