Trump reportedly hired his personal televangelist pastor for a White House job

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump's personal pastor, Florida televangelist Paula White, has officially joined the White House in the Office of Public Liaison, The New York Times reports, citing a White House official. Her job will be advising the Trump's administration's Faith and Opportunity Initiative, created by executive order last year to give religious groups more of a say in federal programs programs focused on religious liberty and fighting poverty.

Hiring White to work in an office charged with outreach to various parts of Trump's base may be linked to Trump's re-election campaign, which is banking on strong turnout from white evangelical Christians, the Times notes. But "White cannot be easily categorized as either a political asset or a liability. She has a large following among Christians who believe in the 'prosperity gospel,' which teaches that God blesses people he deems to be of strong faith with wealth, good health, and other gifts. But many other Christians consider these beliefs to be heresy."

Still, White is in good standing with Trump, who she has known since 2002 and frequently visited in the White House even before getting a job there. She also delivered an invocation at Trump's inauguration and said a prayer before his official campaign kickoff rally in June. And her prayer at the June rally gives you a sense of why Trump values her ministration. "Let every demonic network that has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus," White said. "I declare that President Trump will overcome every strategy from hell and every strategy from the enemy."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.