Donald Trump was chosen by God to be president in 2016, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on Wednesday.
"I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president," Sanders told CBN News Wednesday morning.
"That's why he's there and I think he has done a tremendous job in supporting a lot of the things that people of faith really care about," Sanders said.
Later on in the 20-minute interview, the press secretary said Trump was a "natural-born leader," especially when it comes to immigration policy.
"No matter what the topic is, he's a natural born leader, and so something that is this big of a priority for him, you can expect him to continue to lead on the effort."
President Trump's insistence on funding for a Mexican border wall brought about a crisis with Congress and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Trump signed legislation last Friday to temporarily end the 35-day shutdown, but not the fight over his border wall.
On immorality
The measure funds the government for three weeks, until February 15, while lawmakers try to reach a wider deal on immigration. Sanders said the White House was counting on Congress for a deal: "Now we're counting on members of Congress to come together and work out a deal that actually addresses those problems."
Asked what she thought of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's view that the border wall is immoral, Sanders said that was "ridiculous."
"Honestly, it's very hard at this point to even take a lecture from Democrats on what is moral and what isn't," she told CBN's Chief Political Analyst David Brody and Senior Washington Correspondent Jennifer Wishon.
"The idea that protecting the people of your country, which is the fundamental duty of being president of the United States would in some way be immoral is a ridiculous charge," she said, adding that Pelosi "may even regret making that comment because she's seen how ridiculous that sounds."
- CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed reporting to this story.