Preacher branded 'heretic' takes place at Trump's side

White House vows to immediately reintroduce immigration ban after 'outrageous' judge cancels it with nationwide injunction and Trump is told: 'No one is above the law - not even the President'
Father of woman, 19, 'strangled and thrown off a 50ft bridge by her two male classmates - including one who took her to PROM' - comes face to face with the pair in court
Trump's pick for Army secretary drops out
Comedian Patton Oswalt's wife had an undiagnosed heart condition and was killed by a cocktail of Adderall, Xanax and fentanyl
Texas high school math teacher pleads GUILTY to engaging in sexual activity with two 17-year-old students - but WON'T have to register as a sex offender
EXCLUSIVE: NBC to CANCEL one hour of the Today show for $12m Megyn Kelly's new 10am slot
Polygamist couple are found guilty of marrying their 13-YEAR-OLD daughter off to 60-year-old Warren Jeffs - and the girl is still missing
Virginia woman wins $1 MILLION payout after catching horrific bacterial infection that left her covered in boils from a pedicure at a nail salon
Maryland woman 'killed her four-year-old daughter with a kick to the stomach for not brushing her teeth'
Landscaper, 24, dies in a horror wood chipper accident at a New Jersey home
California sex offender who kidnapped and murdered four women is sentenced to death
PICTURED: Prince Harry is spotted holding hands with his girlfriend Meghan Markle in London as friends of the couple say she has 'virtually moved in'
'It's my f***ing money': David Beckham is targeted by hackers who release personal emails claiming he refused to donate $1m to charity and only did aid work to secure a knighthood
El Chapo's model wife, 27, makes a rare public appearance to support him in New York court after Mexican drug lord, 59, causes a 15-minute closure of the Brooklyn Bridge so his 12-car motorcade can take him to trial
Human remains found in a shallow grave may be Texas student, 22, who went missing in October after going on a date with her boyfriend
Tearful Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau vows solidarity with Muslims during funeral for three of the six victims slain in Quebec mosque massacre
Apocalypse island: Tech billionaires are building boltholes in New Zealand because they fear social collapse or nuclear war. So what do they know that we don't?
Louvre 'attacker' was Egyptian: Machete-wielding man shot five times after attacking French soldiers outside Paris museum 'had been in the country for just over a week'
Forget painkillers - try artichoke! As a study reveals the dangers of drugs, expert reveals the natural ways you can treat five common ailments
Hear the lost songs of the Holocaust: Researchers find forgotten recordings of tunes that Nazi officers forced prisoners to sing on their way to work camps
'It looked like a war zone': Man in his 70s is killed in a huge 'propane tank' explosion that flattened home and could be heard at least 16 miles away
Washington breathes a sigh of relief as whirlwind Trump flies out to join First Lady Melania at Mar-a-Lago at the end of another white-knuckle week (but of course he still has Twitter . . .)
Pentagon releases terror training video it uncovered in fatal Yemen raid as proof of operation's success... but it's quickly revealed to be DECADE-OLD Al-Qaeda footage already online
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner 'convinced Donald Trump not to roll back LGBT protections in the workplace'

Evangelist Paula White joined supporters at the White House meeting yesterday
Trump thanked the TV preacher for helping him win the Presidential election
The pair have been friends for 15 years, and she is heading a group of religious leaders which will give feedback on his administration
Critics have branded White a 'heritic' in scathing attacks

Published: 04:57 EST, 2 February 2017 | Updated: 08:45 EST, 2 February 2017

e-mail

940

View
comments

A controversial TV preacher branded a 'heretic' by critics took her place at the President's right hand during a White House strategy meeting yesterday.

Evangelist Paula White has been a key ally to the new President and was a strong supporter in his election campaign.

She heads a group of evangelical leaders which will provide feedback to the President during his administration.

Scroll down for video

Donald Trump helps evangelist Paula White take her seat at the meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House

The President posted a picture of himself and his inner circle praying after he announced his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

She sat to the President's right as key Trump supporters discussed the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room.

When she was introduced to the group gathered around the table, who also included Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Trump said: 'Thank you Paula, and thank you for your help during the campaign.'

Trump and White have been friends for 15 years, after he called into a Christian TV station where he had seen her preach to voice his admiration.

Addressing White, his friend of 15 years, Trump said: 'Thank you for your help during the campaign'. To his left is Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA

Yesterday the President posted a picture of himself and his inner circle praying.

He wrote alongside the image: 'Moment of prayer last night after my nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for #SCOTUS. It was an honor having Maureen and Fr. Scalia join us.‬'

The Republican was heavily supported by evangelists, buoyed by campaign pledges such as the withdrawal of funding to Planned Parenthood, and received an estimated 80 per cent of the evangelical vote.

White (left) will give the President regular feedback, leading a group of religious leaders to discuss the administration's actions

It is expected that key religious allies such as White and fellow televangelist James Robison will have close access to the President during his administration.

Trump supporter Jerry Falwell Jr, president of the Virginia-based Liberty University, a non-profit Christian institute, told the Washington Post: 'I think Trump is more one of us. He’s not an elitist.

'He doesn’t look down his nose at evangelicals and Christians and conservatives. I’m very shocked by how accessible he is to so many. He answers his cellphone any time of the day or night.'

Donald Trump led discussions in the White House meeting about the Supreme Court nomination

White leads an evangelical advisory board with other religious leaders, which is set to meet weekly and offer feedback to the President, the New York Times reports.

She said last month, before the inauguration: 'I know that President-elect Trump has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve had in-depth conversations about God.'

Similar meetings were held during Trump's campaign.

The appointment of conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court position which has been empty since the death of Antonin Scalia in February last year.

Trump had promised a right-wing appointment in Scalia's mould, and Christianity Today reported that 70 per cent of white evangelical voters said the Supreme Court appointment was a top election concern.

THE CONTROVERSIAL PREACHER IN TRUMP'S INNER CIRCLE

Ahead of the inauguration, White came under scathing attack from fellow evangelicals, with critics branding her a 'heretic'.

A video was published showing her describing Jesus Christ as the firstborn of God's creation.

In a strongly-worded editorial, conservative blogger Erick Erickson wrote: 'Christians have an obligation to speak in defense of their faith. Trump letting this heretic pray in Jesus’s name should offend every Bible believing Christian.'

And Southern Baptist public policy spokesman Russell Moore tweeted earlier this year: 'Paula White is a charlatan and recognized as a heretic by every orthodox Christian, of whatever tribe.'

White, a Florida-based pastor, hit back at her critics, CBN reported, responding that she believed 'in the exclusivity and divinity of Jesus Christ, His saving grace and substitutionary atonement made available to all by His death on the cross'.