Fact Check: Trump's faith adviser allegedly asked Americans to donate 10% of income to Israel. We set the record straight (original) (raw)

Claim:

In March 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump's spiritual adviser said Americans should give 10% of their income to Israel.

Rating:

Rating: False

Context:

In a March 29, 2026 YouTube video, televangelist Paula White-Cain, who is Trump's spiritual adviser, called for viewers to give a tithe (traditionally defined as 10% of one's income) to her ministry. She later said donations to her ministry "helped build a moshav — a village — in Israel from the horrific attacks of October 7."

In April 2026, posts on Facebook claimed U.S. President Donald Trump's spiritual adviser, Paula White-Cain, had called for Americans to donate 10% of their gross income to the nation of Israel.

The posts expressed outrage at White-Cain's supposed request. For instance, one Facebook post said she was asking people to donate a large portion of their income to a foreign country at a time when "millions of Americans are struggling to pay for basic groceries and rent."

Snopes readers wrote in asking us to check whether the rumor was real. We found that while the claim had some grounding in reality, White-Cain had not asked Americans to donate 10% of their income to Israel. Because of this, the claim is false.

Here's what's going on:

Trump appointed White-Cain, a controversial televangelist associated with the charismatic Christian movement, to lead his newly-created White House Faith Office in February 2025, as Snopes previously detailed in a separate fact-check about White-Cain.

In a video posted to the Paula White Ministries YouTube channel on Mar. 29, 2026, White-Cain did what televangelists have done for decades — asked viewers to donate to her ministry. She then spoke about how the money donated by viewers had been spent, including "build[ing] a moshav — a village — in Israel from the horrific attacks of Oct. 7."

Snopes transcribed White-Cain's words from the video, starting at the 1:15 mark:

I want to take you into the Word in just a moment that I preached in the sanctuary, but before I do, let's receive God's tithe and his offering.

I believe that it's so important to honor God, with his tithe — that's the first tenth of your gross income — and an offering — that's free will.

And as you do, you support Paula White Ministries, and I say this, it takes money for a ministry. And when you begin to think of the masses of people, from single moms, to human trafficking victims, to going into the prison, to feeding over 30 million pounds of food, think about that.

In the last four years, when you think about the difference that you make, by your giving, you've helped build a moshav — a village — in Israel from the horrific attacks of Oct. 7.

And the greatest thing you do is you take the Gospel around the world…

The rumor spread in the days following the video's upload, as several publications released articles with headlines that mirrored the later phrasing used by the posts on social media.

On the Paula White Ministries website, Snopes found a page detailing a visit that Todd Lamphere, Paula White Minstries' global outreach pastor, took to Israel in order to dedicate pickleball and tennis courts built in the moshav of Ein HaBesor. (According to Britannica, a moshav is a type of cooperative agricultural settlement that exists somewhere between "privately owned settlements and the complete communal living of the kibbutz.")

That page said Paula White Ministries had partnered with CityServe, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that "trains, equips, and mobilizes the local church to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its community through compassion," to support Ein HaBesor. It also noted that people in the moshav successfully defended the village when the militant Palestinian organization Hamas launched a surprise attack against several settlements near the Gaza strip on Oct. 7, 2023.

We also found a section on Paula White Minstries' About page claiming it had purchased school equipment, washing machines, and a "high-end security drone" for Ein HaBesor. That page noted that White-Cain has been "internationally recognized for her unwavering support of Israel."

Sources:

About Paula White-Cain Ministries | Paula White Ministries. 3 July 2023, https://paulawhite.org/about/.

"ABOUT US." CityServe Network, https://cityservenetwork.com/about-us/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Chetia, Ananya. "Trump's Spiritual Advisor Urges Americans to Donate 10% of Income to Israel." Daily Express US, 31 Mar. 2026, https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/203687/trump-spiritual-advisor-urges-americans.

Deng, Rae. "Breaking down Rumor That Trump's Faith Adviser Promised '7 Supernatural Blessings' for $1K." Snopes, 31 Mar. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/03/31/trump-white-house-faith-advisor/.

Gaynor, Gerren Keith. "Paula White, Who Called BLM the 'anti-Christ,' Named by Trump as Head of New White House Faith Office." TheGrio, 6 Feb. 2025, https://thegrio.com/2025/02/06/paula-white-blm-anti-christ-trump-new-white-house-faith-office/.

Hummel|November 7, Daniel G. and 2019. Paula White and the Mainstreaming of American Pentecostalism - The University of Chicago Divinity School. https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/paula-white-and-mainstreaming-american-pentecostalism. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Kornbluh, Jacob. "Trump to 'defend the Rights of Christians,' Announces New Faith Initiative Led by Controversial Televangelist." The Forward, 6 Feb. 2025, https://forward.com/fast-forward/694468/white-house-faith-office-pastor-paula-white/.

Pickleball Courts In Israel | Paula White Ministries. 17 Sept. 2024, https://paulawhite.org/pickleball-courts-in-israel/.

"President Trump Announces Appointments to the White House Faith Office." The White House, 8 Feb. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/president-trump-announces-appointments-to-the-white-house-faith-office/.

Worthen, Molly. "What the Fastest-Growing Christian Group Reveals About America." The Atlantic, 2 June 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/american-religion-charismatic-christianity/682991/.