Franklin Graham says Trump’s speech was ‘one of the best ever’ at the UN

North Carolina-based evangelist Franklin Graham on Tuesday praised President Donald Trump’s speech as “one of the best ever” given at the United Nations.

In a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, Graham lauded the president’s address, given hours earlier in New York.

“Thank God we have a president who stands for truth and is not afraid to speak truth to the whole world,” he wrote. “President Donald J. Trump’s address today to the United Nations General Assembly may have been one of the best speeches ever given to that body. It made you proud to be an American.”

In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if the nation’s “Rocket Man” leader, Kim Jong Un, does not abandon his drive toward nuclear weapons.

Trump, who has ramped up his rhetoric throughout the escalating crisis with North Korea, told the murmuring crowd of world leaders on Tuesday that “it is far past time for the nations of the world to confront” Kim Jong Un and said that Kim’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons” poses a threat to “the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life.”

“Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime,” said Trump, using a belittling nickname for the North Korean leader. He said of the United States: “If it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”

Graham also said he hoped others will join him “in praying for this man, that God will guide and direct him. He reminded the world, ‘If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph.’”

Graham’s post was shared nearly 3,000 times within 40 minutes, had more than 14,000 reactions and nearly 1,000 comments.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Franklin Graham says Trump’s speech was ‘one of the best ever’ at the UN."