Evangelist Franklin Graham criticized Joe Biden on his statements during the joint session of the 117th United States Congress, saying that the very problem former President Donald Trump was aiming to eradicate is actually what's currently ruling the nation.
In his Facebook post, Rev. Graham articulated his concern over the emergence of socialism and warned about its devastating effect on the country and its economy.
"As President Biden was giving his speech last night, I couldn't help but think that the swamp has won. When President Trump came into office, he said he was going to drain the swamp. Well, sadly, it looks like the swamp rules," Graham began.
Metro News explained that Mr. Trump used the phrase "drain the swamp" to describe his plan of fixing problems in the federal government.
The evangelist further said that America enjoyed the "strongest economy" it ever had "in more than 50 years" in just first two years of Trump's presidency.
He also took note of the current administration's plan to spend much money on rebuilding the country. Rev. Graham pointed out that in accordance with his observation, the country does not need to be rebuilt.
"President Biden and the Democrats are proposing a once-in-a-lifetime spending frenzy to rebuild our country. I've flown from coast to coast and have driven from coast to coast, and I wasn't aware that America needed rebuilding."
He is concerned that the plan to spend such large amount of federal fund, supported by lawmakers, would be disastrous to the nation's economy.
"Unfortunately, most of our representatives in Congress will probably go along with it, and this kind of spending will eventually be devastating for our economy and our nation."
Rev. Graham offered an advice, stating that in order for the United States to prosper, the government must "stay out of the way".
He also observed that America is now turning into a socialist government.
"What we are witnessing firsthand is the onset of socialism, where those in leadership want to teach Americans to look to the government to meet all of their needs. It just doesn't work that way."
The evangelist highlighted that the nation was built on hard work and by the grace of God. He said that people must turn to God for help and not from the government.
"This great nation was built on hard work and sacrifice-and most importantly, by the grace and blessing of Almighty God. We need to look at Him for help, not to the government. Pray for our nation and our leaders," he concluded.
Rev. Graham has a legitimate reason to be concerned about socialism. The fall of Venezuela, once known as South America's wealthiest country, is a cautionary example of socialism's danger.
The poverty that hit Venezuela was believed to be the consequence of the socialist policies that were put in place by former president Hugo Chavez and his successor, current president Nicolas Maduro.
Chavez implemented three policies that were blamed to have caused the country's current crisis. These include nationalization of private industries, currency and price controls, and "fiscally irresponsible" welfare program expansion.
