The pastor who helps Donald Trump to listen to "what God has to say" – 30/03/2019

By Jessica Glenzain, Apopka, Florida

Paula White, spiritual advisor and personal pastor of Donald Trump, he reconstructed a private dinner moment at the White House last month, which would eventually be part of the headlines to demonstrate the president's uncompromising stance on the abortion.

The night before the national prayer breakfast, Trump contacted US Senator Chris Coons, Democrat and Presbyterian, on the issue of expanding the right to abortion in New York State. The law is denigrated by evangelicals like White.

Trump put his face on the democrat's shoulder. They were almost face-to-face and whispered in his ear: "You can not do that to a baby … it's a human, is not it, and you have no problem?" And he continued, "That's not Is not he calling a murder? ".

Trump was "face to face, and it was pretty much like" Wow, "says White, leaning over the decorated dining room table of his Florida home of nearly 550 square meters.

White directs a mega church in Floridaand it is the link between the evangelical community he has been leading for decades and a president whom he describes as a person who does not speak the "language of Christianity". Although White has escaped the constant control of some members of Trump's circle, she is however a controversial figure, who has stated that she regularly calls with the president and the ministers of his family.

The fact that White chose to tell this story shows why she might be useful to Trump, whose past playboy in Manhattan, with several marriages, might not obviously attract the Christian right.

Weeks after dinner, anonymous sources spoke of the confrontation at Politico. At least one Republican senator present has denied history, although the version has already accumulated important points in Trump's evangelical base, suggesting that his anti-abortion rhetoric is evidence of a private sentence, not a political convenience.

"The irony of this situation is that it's not enough to get Trump to tell the evangelists," he said. "It is not enough to tell him," Evangelists, I want your vote. " Not at all"

White testifies frequently sincere and deep faith of the president and comments that his role as an advisor for Trump it was "a task badigned by God". She performed the invocation at the command-making ceremony and since then it has been some of the high-level events, like the "state dinner" that Trump gave to 100 evangelists last summer. Before dinner, he participated in a small influential group discussion. Help plan White House events for the religious community and provides information on political decisions.

The Guardian contacted the White House about this story; However, the administration has not yet responded to the request for comment.

"Millionaire Charlatana"

Like many people around Trump, White is a controversial figure. The descriptions of his person alternately go from that of a woman who "led Trump to Christ" to that of a "charlatan". His ministry in Florida and the preaching of televised evangelism turned it into millionaire, and they attracted the attention of Congressional investigators. Some political observers see the alliance between Trump and the evangelical community a wedding for convenience: he needs his votes and they have to run his program.

But Blanc does not see it that way.

"He's really busy the evangelical community," White said. The woman said at a meeting in 2011 that Trump had asked her "to bring a group of pastors to pray" to find out if she should campaign to become president.

"We invite about 25, 30 pastors and we pray for six hours"At Trump Tower," said White. Trump, according to White, prayed about half that time. "I really wanted to hear what God had to say… Making America a reality is a reality for him, it's not a slogan, This is authentic"

White has come a long way since his first church, a department at a store in Tampa, Florida.

Mr. White currently lives in a Bluegrbad Estates home in Apopka, Florida, near his Pentecostal ministry, the New Destiny Christian Center. The circuit of residences of millions of dollars with private stables It's in a gated community. Security is strict. When I entered Bluegrbad Estates, I was followed by a Cadillac Escalade equipped with flashing blue lights.

"Who are you?" M & # 39; asked a man after lowering the curtain of a window. "I'm asking you a question," he said, and he threatened to call the police. When I mentioned the surname White, he called her "nice woman".

White There is no formal religious preparation, although according to her, had a vision of God at 18who told him that he should preach the gospel. The same year he had his son Brad Knight. He divorced soon after. For years, she did "nothing" more than studying the Bible, and soon began her ministry with her second husband, Randy White.

In the early 2000s, as the church became more and more important, Randy told The Tampa Bay Times that churches needed to "believe in their product". He added, "My product is Jesus."

At that time, White participated in a regional Christian television program, which also broadcast in Mar-a-Lago and BET. His church had grown to reach the amount of nearly 20,000 membersand become one of the biggest in the country. He said that one day, Trump had called him out of the blue, had "textually" repeated three of his televised sermons and told him that he had "something".

He started spending more time in New York and finally bought an apartment in the Trump building on Park Avenue, with Randy (he is currently selling for $ 3.9 million, the price has recently been reduced).

White attributes the relationship to a "task" entrusted by Godwho said "show him who I am," said White.

"I met thousands of people, millions of people, during my ministry, even though I met a group of people this way, it was like a direct task," he said. said White. God's call to her was "directly concerning Trump".

Faith and donations

Part of the controversy surrounding White, and perhaps the reason he attracted Trump, is that he teaches "The Gospel of Prosperity" faith and donations to religious causes will enhance the financial well-being of membersas well as his spiritual health. Last year, White encouraged members of his congregation to send their first month's salary to their ministry to enjoy God's blessings.

Florida's conservative millionaire clbad is moving into a small social circle and White seems to have found the company of Trump supporters. The former owner of White is David Siegel, the timeshare mogul whose wife appeared in the documentary Queen of Versailles, in the role of the family. builds a replica of the French palace of 7,900 square meters.

White is currently married to Jonathan Cain, keyboardist of the rock band Journey, and the two travel together frequently, even to DC to see the president. Two congressional investigations, one from 2004 and the other from 2007, ended without finding any irregularities.

White coordinates meetings with religious leaders at the White House and with the Public Liaison Office on humanitarian issues, including: the Venezuelan crisisat the time of our interview. Advised on specific policies such as the move of the American Embbady from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Israel (She told Trump: "Sir, you make the right decision").

He also defends the president outside of Washington. When it was revealed that the Trump administration had separated the children from their parents at the border, White told the Christian broadcasting network that if Jesus "had broken the law, he would have been a sinner and would have Would not have been our Messiah ". After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, killing 3,000 people, White told Charisma News that she "worked daily with the White House in the relaunch efforts," and officials said. 39, the island declared government, our army and our national guard.

During our interview, Mr. White praised Trump's attack on Johnson's amendment, which forbids religious institutions to openly express their political views, and said he hoped he would that the abortion would be "shot down", with reference to the decision of the Supreme Court I will legalize it at the national level.

However, she does not see herself taking a political position vis-à-vis God.

"People say," If Hillary had asked her to pray for her, would she? "Of course I would, but I have no relationship with her." This relationship with Trump goes back 18 years, "White said. According to White, it is important that she has never accepted any favors from Trump and has never accepted money to work with him..

"Everyone has tried to attract me, Bush, Clinton, Obama, Mitt Romney," White said. All this is part of the job of pastor of a mega church and televangelist evangelist. "Bernie Sanders never asked me toBut I'm just saying that if he asked me to pray for him, I would do it, "he said.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media 2019