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."
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