Televangelist Says Resisting Trump Is ‘Fighting The Hand Of God’

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By Sam Kestenbaum August 22, 2017

Paula White, spiritual adviser to Donald Trump, believes that the president is a king who has been “authentically raised up by God” to lead — and that opposition to the president is tantamount to resisting God’s will.

“Whether people like him or not, he’s been raised up by God because God says that He raises up and places all people in places of authority,” White said, speaking on an episode of the Jim Bakker Show. “It is God that raises up a king, it is God that sets one down and so when you fight against the plan of God, you’re fighting against the hand of God.”

The advocacy site Right Wing Watch first highlighted the segment and White’s comments.

During her appearance White also revealed she believes that Trump is under attack from evil spirits who are afraid of his conservative appointments to the Supreme Court.

She went on to compare Trump’s election with that biblical tale of Esther. Just like Esther, a Jewish orphan, was an unlikely choice to become queen, Trump was a similarly unusual — but divinely-chosen — candidate, White said.

White is a popular megachurch leader who also incorporates some Jewish observances into her evangelical ministry, like wearing of ritual garb or observing some holidays. She delivered a prayer at Trump’s inauguration and is a member of his “evangelical advisory board.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

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