Preaching the gospel of Trump

Bonnie Kristian

TheWeek.com

President Trump has appointed a “shameless religious grifter” as the White House’s adviser to faith-based groups, said Bonnie Kristian. Televangelist Paula White belongs to the “prosperity gospel” movement, which teaches that God will reward those who demonstrate their faith with worldly success, money, health, and happiness. Conveniently, this often means sending a check to preachers like White, who’s been married three times and lives in an opulent mansion. An “offering” of $75 or more, White’s website says, “WILL release you from your past and align your future for [God’s] blessing!” Prosperity gospel is a perversion of basic Christian teachings, in which God becomes “a divine vending machine.” It also preys on the desperate and vulnerable. Polling has shown those making $10,000 a year or less are twice as likely to believe in prosperity gospel than those making $35,000 to $50,000. Trump has borrowed from the same fraudulent playbook. “He promises his base a newly great America bristling with strong farms and reliable factory jobs.” But both sectors have gone into decline as a result of his disastrous policies. White “is a perfect fit for this presidency”: Like Trump, she is a grifter who specializes in “giving desperate people false hope for personal gain.”