Donald Trump’s remarks at the latest National Prayer Breakfast went about as well as expected. On the one hand, the president talked about the importance of being “a unifier.” On the other, the Republican lashed out at unnamed Democrats, falsely saying, “They oppose religion. They oppose God.”
There was, however, a substantive dimension to the remarks. Trump announced, for example, that he’s creating a Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty, as well as signing an executive order intended to target what he described as “anti-Christian bias.”
But as a Reuters report noted, there was one other element of the president’s vision that stood out:
The president on Thursday also announced he will create a White House Faith Office, led by Rev. Paula White, who has served as a religious adviser to him for many years.
As a practical matter, this White House office, which also existed during Trump’s first term, probably won’t have a dramatic impact on public policy. It is, however, worth pausing to appreciate who the president is welcoming onto his team.
The New York Times reported several years ago on White and her embrace of the “prosperity gospel,” which is based on the idea “that God blesses people he deems to be of strong faith with wealth, good health and other gifts.” The same article added that many other Christians consider the “prosperity gospel” to be “heresy.”
And while I’m inclined to put aside questions related to theological merits, the fact that the Florida-based televangelist will now have a job at the White House suggests it’s probably worth taking a look at her record.
In 2019, for example, White told her viewers that they had to support her ministry, even if they’re struggling, or God would kill their dreams. The same week, White told viewers that some states have “already passed” laws declaring the Christian Bible as “hate speech,” which is why America needs Trump’s judicial nominees to be confirmed. (There are no such state laws.)
The Hill also noted that White delivered an opening prayer before Trump’s re-election campaign kickoff, saying “demonic networks” had aligned themselves against the Republican. As People for the American Way noted, it was a familiar refrain: In the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat, the same televangelist held multiple emergency prayer services to battle the “demonic confederacies“ that were supposedly trying to steal the election. The same report from People for the American Way added: White joined Trump at the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where she prayed that God would give rallygoers a “holy boldness” and that “every adversary” would “be overturned right now in the name of Jesus.” … White has repeatedly declared that her mere presence in the White House makes it “holy ground” and warned that to oppose Trump is to oppose God.
It’s not altogether clear what White’s responsibilities will be leading the White House Faith Office, or whether she intends to accept a taxpayer-funded salary. Watch this space. This post updates our previous related coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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