The Ripple Effects of Ministry

Relationship with Queen Elizabeth II
Graham had a friendly relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and was frequently invited
by the Royal Family to special events. They first met in 1955 and Graham preached
at Windsor Chapel at the Queen's invitation during the following year. Their friendly
relationship may have been because they shared a traditional approach to the practical
aspects of the Christian faith.
Foreign policy Views
Graham was outspoken against communism and supported the American Cold
War policy, including the Vietnam War. In a 1999 speech, Graham discussed his
relationship with the late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, praising him as a "different
kind of communist" and "one of the great fighters for freedom in his country against
the Japanese." Graham went on to note that although he had never met Kim's son and
former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, he had "exchanged gifts with him."
In 1982, Graham preached in the Soviet Union and attended a wreath-laying ceremony
to honor the war dead of World War II, when the Soviets were American allies in the
fight against Nazism. He voiced fear of a second holocaust, not against Jews, but "a
nuclear holocaust" and advised that "our greatest contribution to world peace is to live
with Christ every day."
Discussion of Jews with President Nixon
Controversial Views
During the Watergate affair, there were suggestions that Graham had agreed with many
of President Richard Nixon's antisemitic opinions, but he denied them and stressed his
efforts to build bridges to the Jewish community. In 2002, the controversy was renewed
when declassified "Richard Nixon tapes" confirmed remarks made by Graham to Nixon
three decades earlier. Captured on the tapes, Graham agreed with Nixon that Jews
control the American media, calling it a "stranglehold" during a 1972 conversation with
Nixon, and suggesting that if Nixon was re-elected, they might be able to do something
about it.
When the tapes were made public, Graham apologized and said, "Although I have no
memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made in an Oval Office
conversation with President Nixon ... some 30 years ago. ... They do not reflect my
views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks." According
to Newsweek magazine, "[T]he shock of the revelation was magnified because of
Graham's longtime support of Israel and his refusal to join in calls for conversion of the
Jews."
In 2009, more Nixon tapes were released, in which Graham is heard in a 1973
conversation with Nixon referring to a group of Jewish journalists and "the synagogue of
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