Apparently, Tucker Carlson thought it would be a good idea to use his platform to attack Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse and the faith-based community. Tucker Carlson made a big mistake.
There are situations that we sometimes have a great deal of familiarity with. The work of Samaritan’s Purse and Franklin Graham is one of those situations for me. Readers here will know of my time spent as a CERT volunteer during national disasters, most of which involve hurricane relief.
I have worked closely with Samaritan’s purse, spent time inside that organization and know the scale of assistance they provide. They are, quite simply, the single most effective emergency response mission in our nation.
On his podcast, Tucker Carlson and guest “Bro” Nathan Apffel spin a conspiracy tale that’s wildly out of touch with reality.
At the same time, they mock Christianity and Christian beliefs while taking aim at Franklin Graham, accusing him, among other things, of profiting from the Samaritan’s Purse mission.
You can watch Carlson and Apffel HERE. I’m not going to promote it, because it is sick, twisted, very dark and full of flat out lies.
Carlson even goes as far as to claim: Franklin Graham has a billionaire doomsday bunker in Alaska which he created from the donations to the organization, Samaritan’s purse has a $2.5 billion war chest and ownership of private airplanes worth $15o million which Graham and his leadership use for personal travel and self-enrichment.
Let me be very specific and very clear, every single thing they claim is false; demonstrably false and easily disproven for anyone who spent even five-minutes looking at the IRS filings of the organization [SEE HERE].
Why Tucker Carlson would choose to attack Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse is a bewildering question. President Trump’s decision to ostracize Carlson from any contact with the White House completely makes sense now.
Listening to the dark voices and whispers on your shoulder, is dangerous. That internal gnawing inside the spirit of Carlson is NOT the voice of God.
♦ Starting with the conspiracy theory first, Carlson claims Franklin Graham holds a doomsday bunker in Alaska. This is False.
Franklin Graham hosts “Marriage Encounter” events in Alaska, near his own small property (less than a quarter acre). The events are for military husbands and wives who are in desperate need of marital support, before the marriage collapses.
Usually this is a husband and wife in crisis, often driven by the stress of military service, extended absences, financial pressures, pornography and/or serious disturbing events that have fractured the marriage.
Franklin Graham and his entire ministry believe that marriage is a sacrament, and every effort must be made between spouses to hold on to their relationship with God. The Marriage Encounter events are designed specifically to renew Christianity in the relationship and save the marriage.
The area in Alaska is not an “end times” bunker complex. It is a few buildings, cabins on a lake, in a very remote area where the military family marriage encounter workshops take place. There are no distractions, and the remote area is next to a small quarter acre plot where Franklin Graham has a home.
The entire area is very remote and does not have municipal electricity. They use generators for power. The 60,000 gal above ground diesel storage is brought in to power the generators that provide electricity to the venue. The remote area is only habitable for 3 months in the summer. It is part of the Samaritans Purse mission. The small native community around the area also benefits from the provision of electricity.
I am going to be quoting from the IRS 990 forms that are available HERE:
♦ Next, the issue of compensation. Franklin Graham received $466,000 in base compensation and $407,000 in other reportable IRS compensation.
What is “other compensation” as required to be reported by the IRS filing? Food, Lodging, Benefits, Air Travel, charter travel, security, logistics for Franklin Graham’s mission and much more. As outlined in the 990 form.
Read the highlighted passages.
[Expand image and read the details]
♦ Tucker Carlson claims that Samaritan’s Purse has $150 million in private aircraft. That is false!
The $150 million valuation is the total value of all equipment owned and operated by Samaritan’s Purse and includes: Hospital tents, field hospital equipment, semi-trucks, tools, chainsaws, ATVs, small and medium sized trucks, hammers, logistical supplies, food, fuel, front end loaders, backhoes, tractors, pile drivers, portable air conditioners, lumber, MRE’s, all the equipment – the works.
The “equipment” is all the stuff that is dispatched when Samaritans Purse goes on lifesaving emergency disaster operations, in the USA and abroad, with a Christian focus to the mission. They spent $348 million purchasing it, the equipment has depreciated $196 million, it is now worth an estimated $151.8 million. This stuff is not hard to find out.
♦ Tucker claims that Samaritan’s Purse has $2.4 billion in liquid assets. Again, false.
As the 990 shows, the $2.4 billion is the total of all Samaritan’s Purse assets. Land, Buildings, Equipment, accounts, tangible assets, property, leases, everything.
Samaritan’s Purse took in $1.83 billion with the vast majority of it coming from donors ($1.76 billion) all around the world, not just in the USA. They spent $1.1 billion on operational expenses, disaster relief and mission work, leaving them with $746 million residual which is added to the prior year net totaling $2.4 billion in all assets at the end of 2024.
The total assets of the organization including all tangible property, equipment and cash totals $2.4 billion.
Summary: There is no charity more vital, more successful, more faith based and functionally responsible for helping our nation in times of crisis than Samaritans Purse.
Importantly, everything they do is above board, easy to research, easy to inquire about and accessible to anyone who would have questions about any of it.
There is no conspiracy, no hidden agenda and no dark organizational intention other than to help people, spread the word and love of Jesus Christ and show up when people and communities are in crisis. That is what Samaritan’s Purse does, and they are exceptionally efficient doing it.
The organization is a stickler for detail and financial responsibility, and they are light-years more effective than FEMA.
I have no idea what Tucker Carlson hoped to achieve with his attack against Franklin Graham and the people at Samaritan’s Purse; however, one thing is certain – none of it came from a place of light or good. Tucker Carson is on a very dark trajectory, and I have dismissed several issues of his in the past thinking he was just making poor decisions.
This attack on Graham and Samaritan’s Purse, however, is not a poor decision. He is doing this with a willful attempt at deception bearing false witness, and it will not end well.
It is totally understandable why President Trump and the people around him have pushed a great distance from themselves and the dark imaginings of Tucker Carlson.
Without a fully repentant apology from Tucker Carlson toward Franklin Graham and the entire Samaritan’s Purse organization, I will never highlight anything from him again. This time he has just gone too far.