Donald Trump has sparked a backlash from leading Christians over his appointment of a controversial televangelist to the White House.
The president on Friday signed an executive order to open a White House Faith Office to be led by Paula White, his longtime spiritual adviser.
Trump established a similar office at the White House during his first term and regularly consulted with a tight group of evangelical advisers.
But the move sparked fury from Christian leaders who believe that White, a megachurch pastor from Florida, preaches an interpretation of the gospel that critics argue exploits the most vulnerable.
White teaches followers that God will reward them if they donate to her church, going as far as to suggest precise sums over a thousand dollars to ensure their ‘salvation’.
‘This is an abomination,’ wrote Christian motivational speaker Scott Ross on X.
‘She preaches the heresies of Word of Faith & Prosperity Gospel, both utterly opposed to authentic Christianity. Worse, she has lived a life of scandal, with multiple husbands, twisting the Gospel for profit.’
The teachings of the minister, who is married to rockstar and Journey lead singer Jonathan Cain, have nevertheless rubbed off on Trump who first contacted her by phone in 2002 after watching one of her TV shows.
Trump and Paula White in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 1, 2017
The minister, married to rockstar and Journey lead singer Jonathan Cain (pictured left), is also a proponent of what’s known as ‘Prosperity Gospel’ and ‘Word of Faith,’ which both connect giving money to churches and religious causes to general health and wealth
The White House praised White as someone ‘fighting for religious freedom and humanitarian rights, and advocating for the voiceless’ in a press release announcing her appointment.
Trump said on Thursday he would create the White House Faith Office and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force on eradicating what he called anti-Christian bias within the federal government.
But the backlash came thick and fast online as it sent shockwaves through Trump’s Christian base.
Ross, an Orthodox Christian leader based in Texas, went as far as to argue that White’s appointment was the ‘worst and most dangerous thing’ Trump could have done.
‘Lord, have mercy on our country and this administration,’ he wrote on X.
Christian blogger Chris Hohnholz wrote on X: ‘Not every choice he makes will be a home run, we understand that. But this? This is a train wreck. @realDonaldTrump, sir, you need to reverse course on this ASAP. Not only is Paula White not biblically qualified to be a pastor, she is a false teacher leading people to Hell. Do not do this, sir.’
A MAGA fan called TexasClare on X wrote: ‘True evangelicals who have Trump’s ear (like @Franklin_Graham ) need to get him off the “Pastor” Paula White train.’
John Mason, host of the Living God’s Truth podcast, stated: ‘Even though President Trump is enforcing laws that line up with our values, that doesn’t mean he has any clue what biblical Christianity is or why it matters.
Many Christians, including many conservatives and supporters of Donald Trump, are now critical of White being given a role in the White House
‘Paula White is a known heretic and known false teacher who has no regard for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.’
Jon Root, a conservative YouTuber, stated: ‘This is the worst decision President Trump has made since taking office… Paula White is a heretic, who peddles the prosperity gospel. Plus, women should not be pastors according to The Bible.’
White distanced herself from the prosperity gospel in a 2017 statement that said she would ‘reject any theology that doesn’t affirm or acknowledge the entirety of scriptural teaching about God’s presence and blessing in suffering as much as in times of prosperity.’
This despite a televised Easter sermon in 2016 in which she asked her congregation for a specific donation to demonstrate their faith in the resurrection.
‘There’s someone that God is speaking to, to click on that donation button by minimizing the screen. And when you do to sow $1,144. It’s not often I ask very specifically but God has instructed me and I want you to hear. This isn’t for everyone but this is for someone. When you sow that $1,144 based on John 11:44 I believe for resurrection life,’ said White.
The pastor implored her flock: ‘So click on and minimize that screen and right now sow your miracle resurrection seed as we stand in faith together and I believe God for your miracle.’
The prosperity gospel has been rejected as unbiblical and heretical by almost all Christian scholars and theologians, including evangelicals.
Southern Baptist theologian Russell D. Moore told the Washington Post in 2017 that ‘Paula is a charlatan and recognized as a heretic by every orthodox Christian, of whatever tribe.’
Trump said on Thursday he would create the White House faith office and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force on eradicating what he called anti-Christian bias within the federal government
Trump delivered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol and used his speech to call for ‘unity’, telling lawmakers his relationship with religion has ‘changed’ after a pair of failed assassination attempts last year.
At a second prayer breakfast in Washington, Trump struck a more partisan tone, took a victory lap for getting ‘rid of woke over the last two weeks’ and announced steps to protect Christians from what he said was religious discrimination.
‘The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI and other agencies,’ Trump said.
The president said he will sign an executive order on Thursday to have Bondi head the task force and vowed his attorney general would work to ‘fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.’
The president did not cite specific examples of anti-Christian bias during his remarks but has previously claimed that the Biden administration used the federal government to target Christians specifically.
Biden’s administration announced a strategy in December for countering anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry, and a similar plan to fight antisemitism in September 2023.
The actions announced on Thursday could pose constitutional questions about the separation of church and state, with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment limiting government endorsement of religion.
Trump, who has become the de facto figurehead of conservative American Christianity, has repeatedly invoked a religious anointing since he survived an assassination attempt last year. ‘Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,’ Trump has told supporters at events around the country.
In the last three election cycles, White evangelical Christian voters, who make up a critical piece of the Republican base, have supported Trump.
He has embraced the conservative Christian world view and policies that speak to the bloc’s anxiety about changing gender norms and family patterns.
Trump established a similar office at the White House during his first term and regularly consulted with a tight group of evangelical advisers.
The president also said he would create a new commission on religious liberty, and criticized the Biden administration for the ‘persecution’ of believers for prosecuting anti-abortion advocates.
‘If we don’t have religious liberty, then we don’t have a free country,’ he said.
‘I have been appointed to lead the White House Faith Office,’ wrote White in a statement to X.
‘The office will work alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi to combat discrimination against Christians in federal institutions and ensure religious liberties are upheld across the country!’
She previously served an advisor to President Trump in the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, as well as the chairwoman of his Evangelical Advisory Board.
