Paula White and Franklin Graham added to their stacks of praise for President Donald Trump this week, with White comparing Trump to Jesus in Holy Week.
Not to be outdone, Trump also compared himself to Jesus being called “king.”
At a White House luncheon April 1, Trump spoke about Palm Sunday and said he could relate to the story of Jesus.
“On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as crowds welcomed him with praise honoring him as king,” Trump said. Video of the speech was posted to the White House website and then deleted.
“They call me king now. Can you believe it?”
“They call me king now. Can you believe it?” Trump said.
His remarks came just days after “No Kings” rallies across the nation drew more than 8 million people to the streets, with Trump’s apologists ridiculing the rallies as unhinged hatred of the president.
Two years ago, on Holy Monday, Trump compared himself to Jesus while sitting in a courtroom where he was facing charges of an alleged hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
At this week’s White House event Wednesday, Trump’s faith adviser, Paula White, compared the president to Jesus in his suffering. White is a Pentecostal health-and-wealth televangelist.
“Mr. President, no one has paid the price like you have paid the price,” she told him before the crowd. “It almost cost you your life. You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It’s a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. But it didn’t end there for him, and it didn’t end there for you.
“God always had a plan. On the third day, he rose, he defeated evil, he conquered death, hell and the grave. Because he rose we all know we can rise, and, sir, because of his resurrection you rose up,” she said. “Because he was victorious, you were victorious. And I believe that the Lord said to tell you this: Because of his victory, you will be victorious in all you put your hand to.”
A few days earlier, evangelist Franklin Graham sent a letter to Trump praising him as a peacemaker and agent of God’s work in the world.
“‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matthew 5:9) — and Mr. President, that is what you are.”
“President Trump, Congratulations! The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the hostages being returned home are incredible accomplishments. Your leadership is historic. This is an answer to much prayer. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matthew 5:9) — and Mr. President, that is what you are.”
He continued: “This week you commented to the media that you might not be heaven bound. Maybe you responded in jest, but it is an important issue to know for certain that your soul is secure and will spend eternity in the presence of God. The only One who can save us from Hell is Jesus Christ. You can’t save yourself; I can’t save myself. Good works, prominence, success — none of these get us to Heaven. The only way to Heaven is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. God requires us to turn from our sins and, by faith, believe in our heart that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and God raised Him to life on the third day. If you accept that by faith and invite Him to come into your heart, you ARE heaven bound, I promise you. The Bible says, ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9).”
Trump repeatedly has made public claims doubting he will go to heaven when he dies or speculating how his self-perceived good works might get him there. Even though salvation by works is anathema to evangelical theology, conservative Christians who support him have looked the other way.
Some evangelical leaders — including Gary Bauer and First Baptist Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress — have insisted in the past that Trump is “born again” and a follower of Jesus Christ.