Donald Trump has often named Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), as an important influence. Trump attended Peale’s church in New York, Marble Collegiate Church, with his family, and Peale officiated at his first wedding in 1977. Trump has called Peale “the great Norman Vincent Peale” and said his sermons made him feel positive about God and about himself.
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Reading time: about 8 minutes
How we wrote this article: this article was written by Saj Ali. It sets out the documented links between Donald Trump and Norman Vincent Peale using sourced quotes only, explains Peale’s main ideas and the research on optimism, and every claim links to its source.
Trump and positive thinking in brief
- The influence. Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952).
- The link. Trump’s family attended Peale’s Marble Collegiate Church, and Peale officiated at Trump’s first wedding in 1977.
- In Trump’s words. “The great Norman Vincent Peale was my pastor.”
- Peale’s method. Picture success, pray or affirm it, then act on it.
- The research. Optimism is linked with better health; pairing it with planning helps goals happen.
Contents
- Who Norman Vincent Peale Was
- The Trump and Peale Connection
- What Trump Has Said About Peale
- Peale’s Key Ideas
- Picturize, Prayerize, Actualize: How to Use It
- What the Research Says About Positive Thinking
- Five Lessons From Peale’s Approach
- Other Famous Fans of Positive Thinking
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key Takeaways
- Explore More on Self Help Supermarket
- Sources
Who Norman Vincent Peale Was
Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) was an American minister and one of the best-known self-help authors of the 20th century. He served for more than 50 years at Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
His book The Power of Positive Thinking was first published in 1952. It stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 186 consecutive weeks and helped launch the modern self-help industry (Moyers). It is still widely read, and it appears in many lists of classic self-help books, including our guide to the best self-help books.
Historian Carol V. R. George describes Peale’s message as “practical Christianity”: the belief that positive thinking, combined with affirmative prayer, the technique of “imaging” and purposeful action, could change a life (blank” rel=”noopener”>George, _God’s Salesman).
The Trump and Peale Connection
The links between Donald Trump and Peale are well documented:
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| Trump attended Marble Collegiate Church with his family growing up | NPR, 2017 |
| Peale officiated at Trump’s first wedding, to Ivana Zelníčková, in 1977 | blank” rel=”noopener”>George, _God’s Salesman |
| Trump attended Marble’s Sunday services for almost 50 years | blank” rel=”noopener”>_The New York Times, 2016 |
| Trump named Peale as his pastor at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in July 2015 | NPR, 2017 |
Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was also a keen follower of Peale’s teaching (Moyers).
What Trump Has Said About Peale
These quotes come from sourced interviews, speeches and books.
At the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in July 2015, Trump said (NPR):
“Norman Vincent Peale, the great Norman Vincent Peale, was my pastor. ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’, everybody’s heard of Norman Vincent Peale. He was so great.”
In the same speech he added:
“I still remember his sermons. It was unbelievable. And what he would do is he’d bring real-life situations, modern-day situations, into the sermon. And you could listen to him all day long.”
In his 2015 book Crippled America, Trump wrote (Moyers):
“Rev. Peale was the type of minister that I liked, and I liked him personally as well. I especially loved his sermons. He would instill a very positive feeling about God that also made me feel positive about myself.”
And after the opening of Trump Tower in 1983, he told a reporter: “I never think of the negative” (blank” rel=”noopener”>George, _God’s Salesman).
Peale’s Key Ideas
Peale’s teaching can be summed up in a few core ideas, many of which Trump’s public style reflects.
| Idea | What Peale taught |
|---|---|
| Attitude shapes outcome | Our attitude toward a fact matters more than the fact itself |
| Picture success | Hold a clear mental picture of the result you want |
| Confident thinking | Believe in your ability, and your confidence will grow to match your responsibilities |
| Refuse defeat | One chapter of the book is titled “I Don’t Believe in Defeat” |
| Faith and action | Combine prayer or affirmation with purposeful effort |
In a radio segment from the late 1960s, Peale said: “Think big, and you’ll achieve big results. Think success, and you’ll have success.” He also advised: “Once you’ve determined your goals, paint a mental picture of yourself achieving them. Hold that picture of success before you at all times” (NPR).
Peale’s well-known three-step formula was “picturize, prayerize, actualize” (Moyers).
Picturize, Prayerize, Actualize: How to Use It
Peale’s formula is simple to try in daily life:
- Picturize. Spend two minutes each morning imagining a goal as already achieved. Make the picture vivid: where you are, what you see and how you feel. Our guide to visualisation has step-by-step methods.
- Prayerize. For Peale this meant prayer. If you are not religious, use a short affirmation or a statement of intent, such as “I am preparing well and I will do my best.”
- Actualize. Take one concrete action toward the goal that day. Peale’s message always included effort, not just belief.
This sequence of image, intention and action also appears in many modern self-help approaches, from manifestation to SMART goals.
What the Research Says About Positive Thinking
Research on optimism and goals supports some of Peale’s ideas and adds useful detail.
| Question | What studies found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is optimism linked to health? | A meta-analysis of 83 studies found optimism was a significant predictor of better physical health outcomes | Rasmussen, Scheier and Greenhouse, 2009 |
| How can positive thinking turn into action? | Pairing a positive picture of the future with a clear look at obstacles and a plan helps people act on their goals | Oettingen, 2012 |
| Do if-then plans help? | Specific if-then plans had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals | Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006 |
Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen’s method, often called WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan), is a practical way to combine optimism with planning. After you picture success, name the main obstacle and write an if-then plan: “If I feel like skipping practice, then I will do just five minutes.”
Five Lessons From Peale’s Approach
Whatever your views, Peale’s teaching offers a few practical lessons for personal growth:
- Choose your focus. What you pay attention to shapes how you feel. Start the day by focusing on what is going well.
- Use mental rehearsal. Picture yourself handling a challenge well before it happens.
- Speak confidently to yourself. Replace “I can’t” with “I’m learning how”.
- Pair belief with action. Positive thinking works best with a plan and steady effort.
- Keep going after setbacks. Treat a setback as information, not a final verdict.
Our guides to positivity and self-confidence give more ways to build these habits.
Other Famous Fans of Positive Thinking
Peale’s ideas belong to a wider tradition. Earlier writers such as Napoleon Hill and later speakers such as Earl Nightingale taught similar messages about belief and achievement. Today, the same themes appear in the modern delulu manifestation trend and in the Law of Attraction.
If you would like to explore the wider family of ideas, our comparison of manifestation methods is a good next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Donald Trump’s pastor?
Norman Vincent Peale, senior minister of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan and author of The Power of Positive Thinking. Trump called him “the great Norman Vincent Peale” and said he was his pastor.
Did Norman Vincent Peale marry Donald Trump?
Yes. Peale officiated at Donald Trump’s first wedding, to Ivana Zelníčková, at Marble Collegiate Church in 1977.
What did Trump say about The Power of Positive Thinking?
At the Iowa Family Leadership Summit in 2015, he said: “‘The Power of Positive Thinking’, everybody’s heard of Norman Vincent Peale. He was so great.”
What is the main message of The Power of Positive Thinking?
Peale taught that your attitude toward a situation matters more than the situation itself, and that picturing success, faith and purposeful action together can change your life.
What does picturize, prayerize, actualize mean?
It is Peale’s three-step formula: picture what you want, pray or affirm it, and act to make it real.
Does positive thinking work?
Research links optimism with better physical health. Studies also show that positive thinking works best when combined with a clear look at obstacles and specific plans.
Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump has named Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking, as his pastor and an important influence.
- Trump’s family attended Peale’s Marble Collegiate Church, and Peale officiated at Trump’s first wedding in 1977.
- Peale taught that attitude shapes outcome, and that picturing success, faith and action together can change a life.
- His formula was “picturize, prayerize, actualize”.
- Research supports optimism, especially when combined with planning for obstacles.
Explore More on Self Help Supermarket
Use these pages alongside this one:
- Best Self-Help Books – 25 classics, including The Power of Positive Thinking
- Visualisation – how to picture success step by step
- Positivity – building a positive mindset
- The Strangest Secret, Updated – Earl Nightingale’s classic message
- Delulu Manifestation – the modern take on bold self-belief
- Self-Confidence – practical ways to grow confidence
- Browse all self-help techniques – compare every method on Self Help Supermarket.
Sources
- Keith, T. (2017). How ‘positive thinking’ helped propel Trump to the presidency. NPR, 19 January 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/19/510628862/how-positive-thinking-helped-propel-trump-to-the-presidency
- The New York Times (2016). Overlooked influences on Donald Trump: A famous minister and his church. The New York Times, 5 September 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/nyregion/donald-trump-marble-collegiate-church-norman-vincent-peale.html
- George, C. V. R. God’s Salesman: Norman Vincent Peale and the Power of Positive Thinking. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190914769.001.0001
- Lehmann, C. The self-help guru who shaped Trump’s worldview. BillMoyers.com. https://billmoyers.com/story/self-help-guru-shaped-trumps-worldview/
- Peale, N. V. (1952). The Power of Positive Thinking. New York: Prentice-Hall.
- Trump, D. J. (2015). Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. New York: Threshold Editions.
- Rasmussen, H. N., Scheier, M. F., and Greenhouse, J. B. (2009). Optimism and physical health: A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(3), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9111-x
- Oettingen, G. (2012). Future thought and behaviour change. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 1–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2011.643698
- Gollwitzer, P. M., and Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601%2806%2938002-1
Self Help Supermarket guides are for general information and are not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.