Trump knows his supporters wont go anywhere–he even joked that he could kill someone and his supporters would stay with him. Many Catholics could not care less what the Pope says, and a great many of them would likely side with a celebrity politician before the Pope (as evidenced by the many posts here).I still can’t help wondering why Trump would make his “disgraceful” remark about the Pope. To me it would seem politically stupid of Trump to pick some sort of fight with the Pope since he risks alienating Catholic voters. He could have just refused to comment. But I would never presume that Trump is stupid and he could be intending to stoke anti-Catholic prejudice to defeat his opponents.
The answer to you question is, well of course the Pope didn’t exactly say that!The Pope’s comments have been taken out of context.Now,having said that,can you please explain to me why a wall protecting our borders is unChristian?We are a sovereign nation with laws and rules for entering this country as a non citizen.Anyone,who follows the rules is welcome.Building a wall doesn’t change that.
I thought it was clear the Pope was speaking to both present and prospective future Politicians. No other way to interpret it.I’m not assuming for the Pope, but he should know how his words are going to come off in people’s ears.
The Pope said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt. He also said IF Trump said what the reporter MISSTATED about Trump, then the Pope wouldn’t consider Trump a Christian. The Pope was set up by a political operative, but responded in a nuanced way. And the Pope did not do what the political operative wanted him to do, say that Catholics shouldn’t vote for Trump. The Pope avoided the real objective altogether, and rightly so.Not sure if this was already posted, but here is part of the transcript of what the Pope actually said;
hil Pullella, Reuters: Today, you spoke very eloquently about the problems of immigration. On the other side of the border, there is a very tough electoral battle. One of the candidates for the White House, Republican Donald Trump, in an interview recently said that you are a political man and he even said that you are a pawn, an instrument of the Mexican government for migration politics. Trump said that if he’s elected, he wants to build 2,500 kilometers of wall along the border. He wants to deport 11 million illegal immigrants, separating families, etcetera. I would like to ask you, what do you think of these accusations against you and if a North American Catholic can vote for a person like this?
Pope Francis: Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ At least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people. And then, a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.
catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-in-flight-interview-from-mexico-to-rome-85821/
Jim
Yes, and yet the media and Trump are representing it much differently. Why?I thought it was clear the Pope was speaking to both present and prospective future Politicians. No other way to interpret it.
Really! Well said, Trump was not involved in some deal that appears to be a bad deal for the Cuban people, I think Trump said he supported the deal even but it could be much better.The Pope’s comments have been taken out of context.Now,having said that,can you please explain to me why a wall protecting our borders is unChristian?We are a sovereign nation with laws and rules for entering this country as a non citizen.Anyone,who follows the rules is welcome.Building a wall doesn’t change that.
Put everything aside about what the Pope said about Trump, the issue of immigration is really what matters. Majority of americans want a wall, and here the Pope gives the impression again that he sees the wall as evil.I thought it was clear the Pope was speaking to both present and prospective future Politicians. No other way to interpret it.
Trump knew what the Pope said–and yet he still responded in harsh way. His harshness will not hurt him, he will probably rise in the poll because it will presented as poor Donald was attacked by the Pope. It is already being somewhat spun that way with headlines that read: Pope says Trump not a Christian.The Pope said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt. He also said IF Trump said what the reporter MISSTATED about Trump, then the Pope wouldn’t consider Trump a Christian. The Pope was set up by a political operative, but responded in a nuanced way. And the Pope did not do what the political operative wanted him to do, say that Catholics shouldn’t vote for Trump. The Pope avoided the real objective altogether, and rightly so.
Unfortunately, those who hate Trump will misstate or misconstrue what the Pope said, just as the reporter misstated what Trump said. And a lot of people will be deceived as well.
And those who hate the Catholic Church will want to stir up as much anti-Catholicism as possible with this by further misleading Americans, who are mostly not Catholic and don’t understand the Church very well.
Personally, I don’t blame the Pope in this, and I don’t even blame Trump. I blame those who try to manipulate the Pope for political gain. One needs to keep in mind that this could turn a lot of Americans against the Catholic candidates; probably more than those whom it will turn against Trump.
And no, I’m not a Trump supporter. If I could elect the president myself, it would be Kasich. Failing that, it would be Rubio. But my original favorite was Christie. He’s out of the race now, and more’s the pity.
Remember too that all of the Catholic candidates would increase border security. Undoubtedly we’ll hear more about that. Trump wasn’t the only target of this.
Cnn just showed a poll that republicans have a 56% approval rating of the pope. So much for being conservative.Rubio, Kasich and Bush are Catholic.
Trump is not. Cruz is not.
The majority of non-Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. are conservative and will probably vote Republican anyway in the general, somewhat spread out in the primary.
The majority of Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. vote Democratic. Nothing will change that.
The majority in the U.S. is not Catholic, and many, perhaps most are suspicious of the Popes as being potential political dictators to American Catholics.
So, while I have some questions about the Pope’s meaning in all of this, and the information or disinformation he was given, I think this sort of thing is very unlikely to hurt Trump politically, but could be harmful to Rubio, Kasich and Bush. They will be asked to comment on this, and it will be a “heads you lose, tails you lose” situation.
Cruz might benefit as well, since his natural core constituency seems to be among those religious groups in America that are most suspicious of Catholicism and the Popes.
You really think the wall is going to help?Put everything aside about what the Pope said about Trump, the issue of immigration is really what matters. Majority of americans want a wall, and here the Pope gives the impression again that he sees the wall as evil.
Well, yes, they are conservatives, respect for the Vatican, respect for the Holy Father, respect for life, respect for marriage.Cnn just showed a poll that republicans have a 56% approval rating of the pope. So much for being conservative.
If it deters illegals, yes.You really think the wall is going to help?
Ann coulter is super cynical.You can take it up with Ann Coulter.
If we build a wall, without caring for those on the southern side, we are not acting in a Christian manner.Put everything aside about what the Pope said about Trump, the issue of immigration is really what matters. Majority of americans want a wall, and here the Pope gives the impression again that he sees the wall as evil.
But a lot of people here like the Republican Party bc it goes with Catholic teaching.Well, yes, they are conservatives, respect for the Vatican, respect for the Holy Father, respect for life, respect for marriage.
Coulter’s tweets are included in the Washington Post piece provided by another poster. Limbaugh’s comments from today are included in an earlier post by another contributor and here: newsmax.com/Newsfront/rush-limbaugh-pope-francis-donald-trump-socialism/2016/02/18/id/715058/. But by all means, keep focusing on me rather than the comments of pundits.Considering that no back up was given to the assertion that Rush Limbaugh said, according to this poster, that Pope Francis wanted to change the USA into a Socialist nation; apparently, with no proof, nada, zilch, I will take this as another detracting statement off-topic to this thread per putting down a conservative.
I mean, we all make statements that are proven untrue possibly through our own misunderstanding, but that one was a beauty.
It could just be Trump shooting his mouth off when it would have been best politically and otherwise not to say anything. And that quality is probably not one we need in a President and Commander-in-chief.I think ultimately, it simply makes Trump look generally boorish again, demographics aside. But he’ll stop if it hurts him I suspect, and continue if it helps.
Parts of the border has a wall. People still climb over it and below it. Nothing will change.If it deters illegals, yes.
That’s a waste of time, she’s basically a female version of Trump.You can take it up with Ann Coulter.
That is conjecture, people die trying to cross the border, there have been massacres of migrants, including ones from Ecuador, Brazil in Mexico, there are all kinds of illegal activities. I think a secure border would hurt criminals who exploit this situation including drug and other contraband runners and coyotes, people smugglers.If we build a wall, without caring for those on the southern side, we are not acting in a Christian manner.