Meet Donald Trump’s controversial White House spiritual adviser, Paula White-Cain, wife of rock band Journey’s Jonathan Cain – and a heretic, according to some conservative Christians

Feb 13 , 2025

US President Donald Trump has appointed pastor Paula White-Cain a special government employee and senior adviser to the White House Faith Office. Photos: AFP, @paulamichellewhite/Instagram

The newly appointed senior adviser to the White House Faith Office became a Christian in the 1980s, then claimed she’d had a vision from God – but many take issue with her ‘prosperity theology’

Days after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump created the White House Faith Office and instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to combat anti-Christian government bias through a special task force. On February 7, he appointed pastor Paula White-Cain a special government employee and senior adviser to the Faith Office, according to the White House website. White-Cain previously worked as a Trump consultant under the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.

US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. Photo: TNS

This latest appointment has sparked a backlash, even from some conservatives, per The Daily Beast. White-Cain is reportedly an advocate of “prosperity theology”, which many Christians perceive as heretical, per The New York Times.

In 2020, reports The Daily Beast, she led a prayer service to fight the “demonic confederacies” that had stood in the way of Trump being returned after the Maga leader claimed the presidential election was rigged against him. Now, she’s back at his side.

So who is Paula White-Cain, who calls herself the “messed-up Mississippi girl”, per the Tampa Bay Times?

What is Paula White-Cain’s background?

Paula White-Cain in the Oval Office for the signing of the executive order creating the White House Faith Office. Photo: @jonathancainofficial/Instagram

Paula White-Cain, 58, was born in Mississippi but raised in Maryland, where her mother married a two-star US Navy admiral, per Newsweek. Her biological father took his own life, says her official website, adding that she experienced abuse as a child. She reportedly became a Christian at Maryland’s Damascus Church of God in 1984 and claims to have experienced a vision from God shortly afterwards, per Newsweek.

What is Paula White-Cain known for?

Paula White-Cain (right) with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Photo: @paulamichellewhite/Instagram

Paula White-Cain is president of Paula White Ministries, the National Faith Advisory Board and the City of Destiny Christian centre, Florida, per the White House’s press release about her appointment. The StoryLife Church pastor has written several books and is known for her televangelism show, Paula Today. However, White-Cain has most often made headlines for her problematic stances, such as praying for “all satanic pregnancies to miscarry” – a statement she later defended by saying she didn’t mean it literally, per CNN – and calling the Black Lives Matter movement “anti-Christ”, per Sportskeeda.