What Did You Say?

4 highlights from the White House Summit of Faith and Business Leaders

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter | Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Read more at https://www.christianpost.com/news/4-highlights-from-trumps-summit-of-faith-and-business-leader.html

President Donald Trump and the White House Faith Office hosted the inaugural Summit of Faith and Business Leaders on Monday to celebrate what he calls “core values that built this country,” which include “freedom, hard work, risk-taking, and above all, trust in Almighty God.” 

Held in the State Dining Room, the event was attended by dozens of CEOs and business leaders, honoring those who have donated to faith-based charities. 

In addition to remarks from Trump, Paula White-Cain, senior advisor to the White House Faith Office and a Charismatic televangelist, also addressed the gathering.

While Trump touched upon multiple topics during the discussion, encompassing both foreign and domestic policy, the importance of the Christian faith loomed large.

Here are four highlights from the meeting. 

1. Trump highlights faith of notable entrepreneurs

The president began his remarks by naming notable entrepreneurs throughout American history who strongly embraced the Christian faith. He repeatedly asserted that Christianity has had a positive influence on American society. 

“From the earliest days of our republic, the steady compass of faith has guided the strong hands of American workers, builders and entrepreneurs like really no other,” he said. “Our country was founded by pilgrims and believers. And every generation since, Americans of faith have built our communities and forged new industries and enriched our country by millions and millions of people and ways.” 

Trump listed John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, clothing entrepreneur J.C. Penney, inventor Charles Goodyear, and Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy as examples of business leaders “inspired by their love of God.” He insisted that there were people he could name in the room whose “names are every bit as big as that,” adding that “the proud tradition continues with all of you.” 

“This group reminds us [that] a nation that prays is a nation that prospers,” he added. “I think one of the reasons we went so bad is they really wanted to take God and religion out of your lives, and there was nobody to … look up to.” 

“We have to bring religion back into the country, and we’re starting to do that, I think, at a very high level.”

2. Trump touts new policy allowing pastors to endorse political candidates 

Much of Trump’s remarks at the event consisted of highlighting what he viewed as the major accomplishments of his administration so far.

“As president, I’ve ended the radical left war on faith, and we’re once again protecting religious freedom like never before in our country,” he said. 

Trump touted “getting rid of the Johnson Amendment that didn’t let the pastors and ministers and everybody speak about politics.” He contended that in the absence of the Johnson Amendment, which was passed in 1954 to prevent nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, pastors now have the ability to say, “I don’t like that guy.”

In a legal filing last week, the IRS confirmed that religious leaders who endorse political candidates from the pulpit or through their church communications will not lose their tax-exempt status, drawing praise from conservative and progressive Christian leaders and criticism from secular legal groups. 

The president recalled how many religious leaders supported him in his first presidential bid in 2016. But he claims they declined to endorse him because of concerns of losing their tax-exempt status under the Johnson Amendment. He described how, during “a meeting with 50 faith leaders” in 2015, then-candidate Trump informed them that “I’d love to have your endorsement.”

Trump expressed concern that the religious leaders “didn’t say anything” due to their concerns about the Johnson Amendment, maintaining that he was unaware of the longstanding provision because he was new to politics.

In a subsequent meeting with religious leaders ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Trump vowed to get rid of the Johnson Amendment. In 2017, Trump instructed the IRS to relax enforcement of the Johnson Amendment on churches.  

3. Trump says his life was ‘saved by God to make America great again’ 

As Trump continued to talk about what has transpired during his administration, he noted that the White House gathering took place one day after the first anniversary of the Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally, where an assassin’s bullet nearly ended his life.

“It’s remarkable to think that it was only one year ago this week that my time on earth nearly ended,” Trump asserted. “And if you look at that, God was with me because that’s something,” he added. “In theory, I should not be with you today.”

After the attendees erupted into applause, Trump insisted that “my life was saved by God to really make America great again.” The president echoed what he has articulated in previous remarks about his assassination attempt, noting how his sons, who are avid shooters, informed him that “at that distance with that gun, you didn’t have a chance.”

“Some people say it was lucky, and some people say something else. I say something else. I think God helped us,” he concluded. 

4. Paula White calls America’s business leaders ‘stewards on divine assignment’

The Rev. Paula White-Cain, a Florida-based pastor who has served as Trump’s spiritual advisor, called Trump “the greatest champion of faith of any president that the United States of America has ever had.” 

She told the attendees that the Trump administration “understands that people who are of faith who are entrusted with wealth and influence, as you are, are essential to building a stronger, freer, and more compassionate nation.”

“You’re more than just CEOs and business leaders and entrepreneurs,” she said. “You’re stewards on divine assignment, builders of legacy and vessels of impact. You’ve been called by God to His kingdom for such a time as this.”

White-Cain claimed that “America’s spiritual and moral foundations have been restored.”

“And it’s only the beginning,” she continued. “Today’s not just a luncheon. It is a moment of divine alignment, a commissioning. And we believe that God is raising up business leaders who don’t separate faith from enterprise but who see their platforms and their pulpits as their businesses and instruments for eternal impact.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com