Four months after bizarrely questioning Hillary Clinton’s faith, Donald Trump has, with less than than 30 days until the election, decided to claim that she is anti-Catholic. But only one candidate running has called the Pope “disgraceful” and claimed he “doesn’t get it.” (Trump also suggested that the Pope was acting as a pawn of the Mexican government, so there’s that…)
Unsurprisingly Trump, a small-minded bully who’s easily baited into conflict by mere tweets, couldn’t resist lashing out at Pope Francis:
Trump Attacked Pope Francis
February 2016: Trump Said The Pope “Doesn’t Get It” When Speaking about Immigration On The US-Mexico Border. According to The New York Times, “Donald J. Trump has a message for Pope Francis ahead of the pope’s trip to pray with migrants along the Mexican border: You don’t get it. The pope is planning to go to the Rio Grande next week while on a visit to Mexico. He plans to offer prayer and show solidarity with suffering refugees. Mr. Trump does not approve. In an interview with the Fox Business Network on Thursday, the Republican presidential candidate, who has proposed building a wall along the United States’s southern border, suggested that Francis was serving as a pawn of the Mexican government.” [New York Times, 2/11/16]
Trump Campaign Press Release, 2016: “If And When The Vatican Is Attacked By ISIS, Which As Everyone Knows Is ISIS’s Ultimate Trophy, I Can Promise You That The Pope Would Have Only Wished And Prayed That Donald Trump Would Have Been President.”According to a press release from the Donald J. Trump Campaign, “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.” [Donald J. Trump Campaign, 2/18/16]
Trump, 2016: “The Pope Only Heard One Side Of The Story – He Didn’t See The Crime, The Drug Trafficking And The Negative Economic Impact The Current Policies Have On The United States.” According to a press release from the Donald J. Trump Campaign, “The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story – he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation.” [Donald J. Trump Campaign, 2/18/16]
Trump, 2016: “For A Religious Leader To Question A Person’s Faith Is Disgraceful.”According to a press release from the Donald J. Trump Campaign, “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.” [Donald J. Trump Campaign, 2/18/16]
Trump, 2016: “They Are Using The Pope As A Pawn And They Should Be Ashamed Of Themselves For Doing So, Especially When So Many Lives Are Involved And When Illegal Immigration Is So Rampant.” According to a press release from the Donald J. Trump Campaign, “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.” [Donald J. Trump Campaign, 2/18/16]
February 2016: Trump Called The Pope A “Very Political Person.” According to The New York Times, “‘I think that the pope is a very political person,’ Mr. Trump said. Immigration overhaul has been central to Mr. Trump’s campaign, and he has taken a hard line on the issue, proposing to deport all undocumented immigrants and make Mexico pay for the construction of the wall to keep them out. He said that Mexico most likely directed the pope to pay a visit to the border out of concern that the United States would get tougher on migrants. ‘I don’t think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico,’ Mr. Trump said of Francis. ‘I think Mexico got him to do it because they want to keep the border just the way it is. They’re making a fortune, and we’re losing.’” [New York Times, 2/11/16]
Trump Claimed The Pope Criticized Him For The Wall Because He Was In Mexico At The Time And The Mexican Leaders Do Not Want The Wall. According to an interview with Donald Trump by Dan Balz and Jenna Johnson, “Number one, the Pope came out against me. Because he 42 said, you said a wall. Well, that’s because he was in Mexico that week and the Mexican leaders don’t want the wall because that will stop them from continuing to rip us off and sending the wrong people and sending the drugs and sending whatever. They don’t want a wall. So I had the Pope come out. In fact, I remember when Hope and Corey and a whole group came. ‘Could we see you?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘The Pope.’ I said, ‘The Pope? What has the Pope have to do with South Carolina?’ ‘He just said some bad things about you.’ I said, ‘The Pope?’ And the next day, it was a front page story.” [Interview With Donald Trump By Dan Balz And Jenna Johnson, 5/23/16]
Trump Called The Pope’s Criticism Of Trump’s Border Wall “Strange” Considering The Vatican Has Even Bigger Walls. According to an interview with Donald Trump by Dan Balz and Jenna Johnson, “Donald Trump: Actually, the way it was basically, the Pope just said something about you. I said, the Pope? Yeah. Where is the Pope? He’s in Mexico. I said, is it good news or bad news? They said it’s bad news. That’s the way it was. I said, 43 is it good news or bad news? And they said it’s bad news. I said, what is it? That’s when they told me what it was. And then I immediately thought of the Vatican with the massive walls. I said, well, wait a minute, he’s got the bigger walls. He’s got walls like you couldn’t even dream of. So it was sort of strange.” [Interview With Donald Trump By Dan Balz And Jenna Johnson, 5/23/16]
Trump On His Conflict With Pope Francis, 2016: “It Turned Out To Be Probably Neutral, I Don’t Think It Was A Positive.” According to CBS News, “As for the Pope’s comments about him last week, did they help Trump to his victory in Saturday night’s South Carolina primary? The frontrunner says he thinks they were a net neutral. ‘I don’t think it was negative, but it could have been a tremendous negative,’ he said, adding that he was in a ‘state of shock’ when he saw that Pope Francis had talked about him. ‘But it turned out to be probably neutral, I don’t think it was a positive.’” [CBS News, 2/21/16]
Pope Francis Criticized Trump Over His Policy Agenda
Published: Oct 12, 2016