Paula White, preacher and President Donald Trump's spiritual advisor, led a televised prayer service seeking his win in the run-up to the results of the 2020 US Elections. A video of the event has gone viral on social media, drawing a wide range of reactions from all quarters. In what is being termed positively "bizarre," White's zealous prayer has made some references that viewers can't seem to be making sense of. White's repetitive chants explaining she can "hear the sounds of victory" have sparked off massive trolling and a meme-fest Twitterati can't seem to be getting enough of.
At one point, White took it a notch up and said, "I hear, victory, victory, victory... Angels have been dispatched from Africa right now." As tension builds around Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Trump inching closer to the magic 270 electoral number, White's video seems to have given people's election anxiety a moment of respite. Social media, both American and desi, is weighing in with their wisecracks on her speech.
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We rounded up the best ones for you:
When you’re trying to get the ballpoint pen at the bank to work. https://t.co/A7h2ZbCsNo
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) November 5, 2020
African Angels : https://t.co/WuwUMzh06P pic.twitter.com/hbaTOe23En
— Prop (@prophiphop) November 5, 2020
These white folks need to learn how to do a havan https://t.co/00LAxeq2Kw
— Ankit Tiwari (@m_a_i_d_i_) November 5, 2020
Don't understand what she's saying but will definitely get enough attention from Pakistanis rappers. https://t.co/MeL0T92BCu
— baqir ali (@baq_ali) November 5, 2020
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Paula White And Donald Trump
White is an American televangelist, preacher, and President Trump's longtime associate, known for her controversial stance on spirituality. She is regarded by religious Christian populations as a "heretic", and on more counts than one, has been accused of heresy.
Trump appointed her to his administration as chair of his evangelical advisory board during his election campaign in 2016.
Then in 2017, after Trump's win, White became the first-ever female clergy member to deliver the Presidential inauguration, a choice that hadn't been popularly appreciated.
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"The President of the United States putting a heretic on stage who claims to believe in Jesus, but does not really believe in Jesus, risks leading others astray…" conservative author Erick Erickson had stated, criticising White.
White, who has also authored several books, responded to the allegations against her saying, "I have been called a heretic, an apostate, an adulterer, a charlatan, and an addict... My life and my decisions have been nowhere near perfect, though nothing like what has been falsely conveyed in recent days."
White has staunchly supported Trump through public speeches time and again. In 2019, she accused Trump's opposers of "being aligned with evil spirits and using sorcery." Most recently, she has been rallying support on social media for Trump's win ahead of the 2020 election results.
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Early Fame and TV Shows
White co-founded what is now known as the Without Walls International Church in 1991 in Florida, marking her name in the religious circles in the state. But she first came to national public notice with her 2001 television show Paula White Today. Following her show, she was reportedly associated with mega-celebrities like Michael Jackson and Tyra Banks in a spiritual capacity.
Dr Kate Bowler, professor of Christian history at Duke Divinity School, has famously said, "Paula White survived scandal and little support from the religious right to become one of the only stand-alone women in the male-dominated world of televangelism. She has done what no one thought she could do, scraping out a place for an unpopular theology beside an unpopular president."