Reverend Franklin Graham, one of the nation’s most prominent Christian voices, is standing behind Vice President JD Vance after his profane rebuke of senators in a heated social media post over Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Graham acknowledged that while he admired Vance’s stand, the Vice President’s "salty" choice of words could have been better.
Graham said in the statement: "We have had many Vice Presidents who have used salty language, but the point Vice President Vance was making is correct. Could he have used a better choice of words? In my opinion, yes; but I appreciate the Vice President standing up for Secretary Kennedy who is trying to buck a very corrupt system and is trying to improve the health of the American people. God bless Secretary Kennedy and Vice President Vance."
The exchange follows Vance’s viral X post declaring senators were "full of s---." Kennedy himself endorsed the message, one day after more than 1,000 current and former HHS employees called for Kennedy’s resignation.
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President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Franklin Graham speaks during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The clash unfolded during a contentious Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday where Sen. Ron Wyden pressed Kennedy over health policies and accusations of promoting conspiracy theories. Kennedy pushed back, defending his record and policies aimed at challenging pharmaceutical companies.
Vance quickly jumped to Kennedy’s defense on X. "When I see all these senators trying to lecture and ‘gotcha’ Bobby Kennedy today all I can think is: You all support off-label, untested, and irreversible hormonal ‘therapies’ for children, mutilating our kids and enriching big pharma. You’re full of s--- and everyone knows it," Vance wrote.
Kennedy reposted the comment, thanking him: "Thank you @JDVance. You put your finger squarely on the preeminent problem."
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Vice President JD Vance sits down with 'The Ingraham Angle' for an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
That defense extended beyond Vance. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also backed Kennedy, framing Democrat criticism as proof that the secretary is "over the target" in challenging entrenched interests.
This is not the first time Graham has weighed in on political leaders’ language. He previously urged President Donald Trump to cut down on his profanity. "Your storytelling is great, but it could be so much better if you didn’t use foul language," Graham wrote in a letter to Trump, citing Matthew 12:36: "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak."
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. arrives to testify before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Sept. 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik )
Graham later shared to Deseret News that Trump often remembered the admonition in his speeches. "It seems like when he slips momentarily, my letter comes to his mind, and he tells the audience about it, so it must have struck a chord with him." On the stakes, Graham added: "The president, his pulpit — his microphone — is huge. That microphone goes a long way."
Graham ultimately closed his statement to Fox News Digital with a blessing: "God bless Secretary Kennedy and Vice President Vance."
Representatives for Vice President Vance did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News' Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.