(screaming)
(speaking in tongues)
- [Josh] That's Paula White.
The televangelist turned official member
of the Trump administration.
White was born Paula Michelle Furr, 1966
in Tupelo, Mississippi,
the same birth place as Elvis Presley.
Surprisingly, in many ways,
White and Elvis were similar.
He was flashy, she is flashy.
He made crowds scream, she makes crowds scream.
He had fantastic hair, she has pretty fantastic hair.
He spent time in the White House,
she's spending time in the White House.
He owned an airplane and a mansion,
she owns an airplane and a mansion.
But how did White come to live a life of luxury
while having a seat at the
most important table in the world?
I'm comedian Josh Johnson,
and I'm here to tell you the story of
Trump's faith advisor, Paula White.
- To say no to President Trump would be
saying no to God and I won't do that.
- [Josh] White had a pretty brutal upbringing.
Her father committed suicide
when she was just five years old.
- Here's this former messed up Mississippi girl,
lived in a trailer that they called Trailer Trash,
daddy committed suicide,
got pregnant out of wedlock,
been married, been divorced not just once,
you know twice.
- [Josh] In 1984, Paula become a born-again Christian.
A year later, she had a baby and married the father,
Dean Knight.
But their marriage began to crumble
and after Paula met Randy White,
a married men with three kids,
at the church she was attending,
the two divorced their respective spouses,
moved to Tampa and married in 1990.
In 1991, Paula and Randy formed their own church
called Without Walls International Church,
a name Trump probably wasn't fond of.
- Build that wall.
Build that wall.
- [Josh] The Washington Post notes,
over the next decade, Paula blossomed as a pastor
and the Whites began broadcasting their message
on a regional Christian television network
that reached listeners across Florida,
including a restless business tycoon
at Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
- 18 years ago,
and I tell it in the story,
the Lord spoke to me and said regarding then Mr. Trump
show him who I am.
- [Josh] According to White, Trump University co-founder,
Donald Trump, called her after seeing her on TV.
On the phone,
he allegedly repeated three sermons back to her verbatim.
- He verbatim repeats to me three sermons
and I'm thinking to myself,
he listens better than most of my people in my congregation.
- [Josh] He certainly does.
- I'm wondering what one or two of your
most favorite Bible verses are and why.
- I wouldn't want to get into it
because to me that's very personal.
You don't wanna talk about the Bible.
It's very personal so I don't wanna get into verses.
I don't wanna get into...
- [Interviewer] Just a verse that means a lot to you
that you think about or cite.
- The Bible means a lot to me
but I don't wanna get into specifics.
- Even to cite a verse that you like.
- No I don't wanna do that.
- You're an Old Testament guy or New Testament guy?
- Probably equal.
- [Josh] After the initial phone call,
which White reportedly thinks was in 2001 or 2002,
White and Trump would be inseparable for years to come.
She'd go on to ink a 1.5 million dollar
television deal with BET,
the Black Entertainment Television network,
hosting her own show Paula White Today,
she had made it.
Her church was bringing in 40 million dollars a year.
She got to spend time on the set of The Apprentice.
She was flying the world on her private jet,
and she bought a 3.5 million condo in Trump Tower.
However, White's lavish spending
habits eventually landed her on unholy hot water.
In May of 2007,
news of a U.S. Senate financial probe broke.
The investigation targeted six televangelists,
including White,
who preached the so-called prosperity gospel,
which espouses that God rewards believers
with financial success and those who donate
more to the church will have more success.
(cashier cha-chinging)
- There's a department of treasury in Heaven
that God is watching over everything you do
and you are storing up eternal treasure
that will go so far beyond
I think that we can even begin to imagine.
You need to send in 35,000.
You need to send in that 100,000 dollar cheque.
If you do not write that P.O box,
and you do not call that toll-free number
and you do not become a Ministry of Sustainer,
you will never see sustainment in your life,
and your dream will die.
Your call will die.
- [Josh] And around the same time,
her second marriage was crumbling.
Randy and Paula officially divorced in 2007.
Paula reportedly refused to cooperate
with the Senate investigation and got away scot-free.
I guess that's how it works.
Although former employees of the church
say they were told to use money from the congregation
to pay off credit card bills use for personal expenses,
even if it meant not making payroll.
The couple reportedly charted jet for a trip
to Vegas to watch an 18,000 dollar boxing match,
which was all reportedly paid for by the church.
According to a former business associate of the Whites,
the jet was often used as much as 20 hours a week
and frequently flew to the Cayman Islands.
After defaulting on her report
at 29 million dollars in loans,
Without Walls International Church went bankrupt in 2014.
But Paula didn't stop believing.
In late 2014, she married for a third time.
This time it was Journey keyboardist
and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Jonathan Cain.
Trump sent White a 1000 dollar donation to her
New Destiny Christian Center as a wedding gift.
In 2016 after Trump announced
he's running for the Presidency,
White promoted the thrice married reality star
who bragged about sexually assaulting women on leaked tape,
reportedly had an affair with porn star Stormi Daniels
who he paid 130,000 dollars in hush money, to her followers.
And when he won the Presidency,
naturally White was invited to speak at his inauguration
because lucky for us,
Trump is the first President in history
who doesn't really need to repent.
- Why do I have to, you know, repent?
Why do I have to ask for forgiveness
if you're not making mistakes?
- [Josh] Ever since his win,
Paula has been stumping for the President
to the evangelical community.
In spite of everything,
inflammatory comments,
dangerous policy,
it's worth noting the leader of the Catholic Church,
Pope Francis,
doesn't support Trump on separation of children.
He's quoted saying
- I get to do some real cool things
like pray over the President almost everyday.
- I felt destroyed.
Very sad.
It was very hard when he separated me from my daughter.
I'm afraid I'll never see her again.
She's the best, the most important thing in my life.
- [Josh] In return for support, in November of 2019,
Trump appointed White as the special adviser
to the Faith and Opportunity initiative.
Trump created the program to give religious groups
more of a voice in government programs,
which is what we all needed.
She's also the present spiritual advisor,
which mean she basically doesn't come to work.
- Wherever I go, God rules.
(audience cheering)
When I walk on White House grounds,
God walks on White House grounds.
When I walked in the river,
God walked in the river.
When I go into the dry cleaner,
that dry cleaning place becomes Holy.
I had every right and authority to declare
the White House as Holy ground
because I was standing there
and where I stand is Holy.
- [Josh] Holy dry cleaning establishments aside,
White will surely come in handy for Trump
who's looking to maintain his evangelical base
as he tries to win a second term.
She told the New York Times, quote,
Dig!