In yet another evidence that Donald Trump is planning a re-election bid, the former president and his religious advisers announced the formation of a national faith advisory board this week, ostensibly to re-energize his conservative Christian constituency.
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The new project was publicly revealed on a conference call arranged by Intercessors for America and led by veteran Trump adviser Paula White, as originally reported by the Jewish news site The Forward.
The new endeavor, which comprises “70 executives,” is designed to continue the “amazing work that we have done,” according to the Pentecostal megachurch pastor, alluding to operations she led as director of the Trump White House's faith-based office.
White made comparisons to the development of a prior work “faith advisory board,” which is most likely a reference to a group of mostly evangelical Christian leaders that advised Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 and served as an informal council on religious issues during his presidency.
“The board's efforts resulted in “the most robust coalition in recent history,” according to White. “Our cooperation resulted in extraordinary victories, power, and access.”
Jennifer Korn, who previously worked for President Trump's White House Office of Public Liaison as a special assistant, was also present. Korn announced that a new national faith advisory group would be formed “continuing the White House Office of Public Liaison's work on the outside to ensure that we have a united front.”
“A lot of things have happened with respect to faith and religion, and they're not good things,” Trump said. “One of my greatest honors was fighting for religious liberty and defending the Judeo-Christian values and principles of our nation's founding,” he said.
He cited a number of Trump administration accomplishments that are popular among conservative Christians, including designating Jerusalem as Israel's capital, establishing a new White House faith office, and declaring churches to be secular “appointing conservative judges to the federal bench and the Supreme Court during the coronavirus pandemic
Trump made a reference to the Supreme Court's decision not to overturn a contentious Texas abortion restriction last week, saying, “Even last night, you were making some extremely significant decisions, far more powerful than anyone expected.”
What religion is Donald Trump associated with?
Trump was confirmed in 1959 at the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens, where he attended Sunday school. His parents became members of the Reformed Church's Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan in the 1970s. Norman Vincent Peale, the pastor at Marble, ministered to the family until his death in 1993. He has been referred to by Trump as a mentor. Trump “is not an active member,” the church claimed in 2015. In 2019, he named televangelist Paula White, his personal pastor, to the White House Office of Public Liaison. He declared himself a non-denominational Christian in 2020.
Where does Paula White live?
The night before the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump approached Chris Coons, a Democrat and Presbyterian senator from New York, about expanding abortion rights in the state. Evangelicals like White despise the law.
“So, you can do that to a baby…,” Trump said in his ear, thrusting his face over the Democrat's shoulder, almost cheek to cheek. Isn't that something else than a human? And it's not a problem for you?” “Isn't it called murder?” he inquired.
White, leaning over her elaborate dining room table in her almost 6,000-square-foot house in Florida, claimed Trump was “just right in his face, and I was like, ‘Whoa.'”
White is the pastor of a megachurch in Florida and serves as a bridge between the evangelical community, which she has steered for decades, and a president who, she says, does not understand “Christian-ese.” Despite avoiding the relentless scrutiny of some in Trump's orbit, she is a divisive figure who claims to have frequent phone talks with the president and his family's ministers.
White's decision to relate this story highlights why she could be valuable to Trump, whose record as a Manhattan playboy with numerous marriages may not appeal to the Christian right.
Unnamed individuals told Politico about the altercation weeks after the event. Although at least one Republican senator in attendance contradicted the tale, it had already gained traction among Trump's evangelical constituency, implying that his anti-abortion rhetoric stems from a personal belief rather than political pragmatism.
“What was amusing about it is that Trump didn't go out and specifically target evangelicals,” she remarked. “It's not like he went out and said, ‘Deliver evangelicals,' because he wants their vote.”
White frequently attests to the president's real and deep faith, and she has described her work as a counselor to Trump as “a divine duty.” She gave the invocation during Trump's inauguration and has since become a regular at high-profile events like Trump's “state-like dinner” for 100 evangelicals last summer. She also participated in a small, influential group conversation prior to the supper. She assists with the planning of White House events for the Christian community and contributes to policy choices.
White, like many of the people Trump surrounds himself with, is a divisive personality. She has been referred to as both a “charlatan” and a “lady who lead Trump to Christ.” Her teleevangelism and Florida ministry made her a fortune, and she was investigated by congressional investigators. Trump's connection with evangelicals is seen by some political observers as a marriage of convenience: he needs their votes, and they need someone to carry out their agenda.
She stated, “He sincerely cared about the community.” She recalled a 2011 meeting in which Trump requested her to “bring a group of pastors to pray” about running for president.
She stated, “We had around 25, 30 pastors come up and we prayed for six hours” in Trump Tower. She claimed Trump prayed for nearly half of that period. “He was truly interested in hearing what God had to say. … To him, truly making America great is not a slogan, but a genuine goal.”
White's initial church, a storefront ministry in Tampa, Florida, has gone a long way.
White's current residence is Bluegrass Estates in Apopka, Florida, which is close to her Pentecostal church, New Destiny Christian Center. A gated community with million-dollar homes and private stables sits across a highway from algae-covered trailers. There is a lot of security. When I first arrived at Bluegrass Estates, a Cadillac Escalade with flashing blue lights trailed me.
“Can you tell me who you are?” A man demanded as he rolled down a tinted window. “I'm going to ask you a question,” he said, threatening to call the cops. He referred to White as a “lovely lady” when I mentioned her name.
White has no official religious background, but she claims that when she was 18 years old, she received a vision from God telling her to go preach the gospel. Brad Knight, her son, was born the same year. She divorced shortly after that. She “did nothing” but study the Bible for two years before starting a ministry with her second husband, Randy White.
Randy told the Tampa Bay Times in the early 2000s, as the church grew in popularity, that churches needed to “believe in their product.” “My product is Jesus,” he remarked.
By that time, White was appearing on BET and regional Christian television, which also aired in Mar-a-Lago. Her congregation had swelled to about 20,000 people, making it one of the country's largest. She claimed Trump contacted her out of the blue one day and declared she had the “it factor,” repeating three of her televised lectures “verbatim.”
She began spending more time in New York and finally purchased an apartment with Randy in Trump's Park Avenue skyscraper (it is currently on the market for $3.9 million; the price has recently been dropped).
White credits the relationship to a “mission” from God, who told him to “show him who I am.”
“I meet thousands, if not millions, of people during the course of my ministry, but there have been a number of people who I knew were on a direct assignment,” White stated. God's call to her was “specifically addressing Trump,” she stated.
Part of the controversy surrounding White, and maybe why she appealed to Trump, stems from her teaching of “prosperity gospel,” which claims that religion and donations to religious causes can improve members' financial as well as spiritual well-being. Last year, White urged members of her church to contribute their first month's wage to her ministry in order to reap the benefits of God's blessings.
The conservative billionaire elite in Florida is a tight-knit group, and White appears to have found company among Trump fans. David Siegel, the timeshare magnate whose wife was documented in the documentary Queen of Versailles as the family erected an 85,000-square-foot copy of the French palace, was White's former landlord.
White is now married to Jonathan Cain, the keyboardist for Journey, and the two frequently travel together, including to Washington, D.C., to see President Obama. Two congressional investigations, one in 2004 and the other in 2007, came up empty-handed.
On different humanitarian situations, White coordinates meetings with church leaders in the White House and with the Office of the Public Liaison, including the Venezuelan crisis, which we discussed during our conversation. She has provided advice on specific topics, such as the relocation of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (which she assured Trump was “the appropriate decision, sir”).
Outside of Washington, she also defends the president. When it was revealed that the Trump administration had separated children from their parents at the border, White told the Christian Broadcasting Network that if Jesus had “violated the law, He would have been sinful and not have been our Messiah.” White told Charisma News that she “worked daily with the White House on relief efforts” when Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, killing 3,000 people. Officials on the island praised “how magnificent our government, our military, and our national guard are.”
During our discussion, White praised Trump's attack on the Johnson amendment, which prohibits religious organizations from openly expressing political views, and expressed her hope that abortion will be “overturned,” alluding to the US Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.
“People ask, ‘Would you pray for Hillary if she asked you to?' Of certainly, but I don't have a romantic relationship with her. “This has been an 18-year romance,” White stated. Importantly, White stated that she had never asked Trump for a favor or accepted payment for her work with him.
“I've been under Bush's courting, Clinton's courtship, Obama's courting, and Mitt Romney's courting,” White added. It was all part of her job as a megachurch pastor and televangelist, she explained. “Bernie Sanders has never asked me to pray for him, but I'm just saying that if he did, I would,” she remarked.
Who is Jonathan Cain wife?
Cain has had three marriages. Tané McClure, a singer for whom he penned the smash song “Faithfully” in 1983, was his first wife.
He married his second wife, Elizabeth Yvette Fullerton, in 1989, and they have three children: Madison, born in 1993, and twins Liza and Weston, born in 1989. (1996). At the end of 2014, he and Elizabeth divorced. Trev Lukather, Steve Lukather's son, is Madison's fiancée.
He married Paula White, a priest, in April 2015. For both of them, this is their third marriage. They live in the town of Apopka, Florida.
In Nashville, Cain and David Kalmusky conceived and built Addiction Sound, a recording facility.
Cain is a committed Christian, and his faith is reflected in his work as a Christian musician.
Where is Todd White?
Todd White is a pastor and evangelist from the United States. He is the Senior Pastor of Watauga, Texas' Lifestyle Christianity Church.
White is best recognized for his work as a gospel preacher and faith healer in the Word of Faith movement. In the documentary ‘American Gospel: Christ Alone,' he was chastised. White, on the other hand, publicly apologized in July 2020 for not preaching the entire Gospel. However, many others misinterpreted it. Todd White notes that when his relationship with God grows, he learns new things about God, which he incorporates into what he shares when he goes on evangelistic missions. He didn't mean he hadn't been preaching everything in the Bible on purpose.
White, a former drug user and atheist, dates his conversion to 2004 and provides a testimonial of how an encounter with God's Spirit changed his life. Life is Short – Leave a Legacy is his first book (2020).
Who did Jonathan Cain write faithfully for?
Jonathan Cain of Journey awoke to the smell of diesel gasoline and the beginning of a rock song jotted on a napkin in his tour van one morning. To Bart Herbison of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, he shared the experience of writing “Faithfully.”
“Highway run into the midnight sun,” says Bart Herbison. In the history of music, there has never been a better first line. “Stairway to Heaven” comes to mind, however the first two lyrics aren't very memorable. Jon, you've done it again!
Cain, Jonathan: I was on a bus, and we were on our way home from a show. I sat outside, waiting for the rest of the crew to join us. They were dismantling the main stage. I simply sat out there in this huge empty auditorium, watching the riggers take it all down. “Man, these guys are sacrificing time with their families or loved ones to be out here with us,” I thought. “Wouldn't it be amazing if we had a song we could all sing for each other, because we're all missing our loved ones and making that road sacrifice?” I wondered. So, with that thought in mind, I boarded the bus. And I had a napkin with those first four lines written on it.
JC: On a napkin, for sure. “Wheels spin in circles, and you're on my mind.” Then I (thought) to myself, “Well, I'm exhausted.” I'm going to keep this and sleep in the bunk.” That's exactly what I did. And you'd wake up smelling like diesel back then.
What happened to Gregg Rolie?
Prior to joining Santana, Rolie was a member of a band called William Penn and his Pals, which he joined while attending Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Rolie joined Carlos Santana and others to form the Santana Blues Band a year after graduating from high school in 1965, which was eventually abbreviated to just Santana. Rolie was a founding member of Santana and was a key figure in the band's early success, which included a performance at the Woodstock Music and Art Festival in 1969 and involvement in multiple popular albums. He is most recognized as the band's original lead vocalist, whose voice can be heard on iconic Santana songs including Black Magic Woman (US #4), Oye Como Va, No One To Depend On, and Evil Ways. He was also noted for his distinctive sound and innovative work on the Hammond B3 organ, which he used on several of the aforementioned hits, with famous solos. However, Rolie left the band at the end of 1971 due to ongoing disagreements with Carlos Santana about the band's artistic direction.
In 1973, Rolie joined a new band called Journey, which included ex-Santana guitarist Neal Schon. He was the band's keyboardist for the first six albums, playing with Schon, Aynsley Dunbar, George Tickner, and Ross Valory. He was the primary vocalist on Journey and Look Into the Future, and he shared lead vocal duties with guitarist Neal Schon on Next. Rolie sang co-lead vocals on numerous tracks on the albums Infinity, Evolution, and Departure after Steve Perry joined the band in 1977.
Rolie established The Storm in 1991 alongside Steve Smith (who was replaced by Ron Wikso after the first album was recorded) and Journey's Ross Valory. Josh Ramos (whose guitar approach is similar to Neal Schon's) and Kevin Chalfant were also in the band (whose voice resembles that of Steve Perry). Rolie performed keyboards and was a co-lead vocalist on several tracks of the band's first, eponymous, album, which reached #3 on the Billboard albums chart and yielded the Top Ten single “I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love,” similar to his work with Journey and Steve Perry. Despite their success, their second album, which was produced in 1993, was shelved due to the music industry's move toward rap and alternative music consumers. In 1996, it was ultimately released in restricted quantities, and in 1998, Rolie and other former Santana musicians, including Neal Schon, reformed as Abraxas Pool and released one eponymous album.
Why did Jonathan Cain leave Journey?
By the time Neal Schon made the crucial choice to shift managers, Journey had essentially disintegrated.
He'd had a public spat with Jonathan Cain about politics and religion, and subsequently let go of the band's long-serving rhythm section. Journey had to rebuild things with Cain if it was going to survive.
“We discovered that there was a great deal of miscommunication, which I believe was caused by management. The divide-and-conquer strategy was in full swing “In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Schon stated. “They claimed that I said things that I didn't. It had happened with other bands, according to guitar techs with whom I had worked. It was going on between Eddie and Sammy in the Van Halen camp. ‘I'm witnessing the same scenario,' I just said.”
Is William Hinn related to Benny Hinn?
Brothers Benny Hinn William Hinn, Benny's brother, is also a minister and the founder of Resurrection Life. Sam Hinn, like his brother Benny, has been the subject of a few disputes. He resigned from the pulpit in 2013 after being accused of extramarital affairs.
Is Jonathan Cain still in Journey?
Schon and Cain are now joined by Arnel Pineda, a Filipino singer who joined in 2007 after Schon watched his YouTube interpretations of Journey songs. Randy Jackson of “American Idol” fame returns to the bass position, which he held from 1985 to 1987, albeit Marco Mendoza is filling in for Jackson while he recovers from back surgery. Narada Michael Walden has joined the band on drums, while Jason Derlatka, who had previously been a part-time keyboardist, has now become a full-time member.