Trump Responds to Hypocritical Comments
Pope Francis, who has made clear that he is very concerned about the poor and disenfranchised, spent six days visiting Mexico, and weighed in on Donald Trumps vow to build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out. Without naming names, he made the following statement which referred directly to Trump;
A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not getting involved in that. I say only this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.
Trumps response was clear and direct. “[The Pope] actually said that maybe I’m not a good Christian, which is really not a nice thing to say. 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.”
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.
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.
And then the story got better, as Trumps competitors for the presidency weighed in to defend him and to dismiss what Pope Francis had said.
Ben Carson spoke out and said “I have spoken often about the need for faith and compassion in America. However, enforcing our immigration laws is not in contradiction with love and kindness. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors. But as a nation, we must also defend our sovereignty and security. Ending human trafficking into America can save lives and protect the weakest of society from exploitation; and working with Mexico and other Central and South American nations to improve their own governments and economies is a greater service to others than opening our borders.”
Jeb Bush added the following; “I think the Pope said Trump is un-Christian. That’s between him and his Creator … it is not un-Christian to protect your border, to keep people out who come here illegally.”
And Marco Rubio pushed back against Pope as well: “Vatican City controls who comes in, when they come in, and how they come in, as a city-state. The United States has a right to do that, as well.”
In addition to the comments about Trumps faith and commitment to Christianity, many others found the Pope’s comments highly hypocritical, given the design and operation of Vatican City, which is surrounded by 39 foot walls and has a very highly controlled system for who is admitted, and who is allowed to be a citizen.
Historically, the walls have been anything but ornamental in nature. The first 39-foot wall around the Vatican and its immediate vicinity was finished in 852, following a raid by Muslim pirates who damaged the city. That wall helped to protect Pope Gregory VII some 200 years later when the Holy Roman Emperor besieged Rome. Later, after Rome was violently sacked in 1527, Pope Paul III expanded the fortifications, and additional defenses continued to be built until the 1640s.
![A map of the Vatican, showing the outline of its walls. [Wikimedia/Creative Commons]](http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2000px-Flag_of_Minnesota.svg_-9-620x479.png)
The irony of Pope Francis comments is clear when we examine the Vatican’s immigration policy today. The large physical wall around the Vatican is mirrored by the wall of a strict immigration policy. Despite having almost 800 residents, the Vatican only has about 450 citizens, with citizenship generally limited to resident cardinals, diplomats and a handful of resident employees and their families.
So Trump once again comes out ahead, even when disagreeing with a pope! It is likely that the dispute will anger Christians who will see the pope’s remarks as meddling in the politics of the U.S., and judging non-Catholics as non-Christian, which could drive Protestant support to Trump, especially by those who are concerned about illegal immigration already. It could also cause Catholics who are concerned about immigration to align with Trump and to choose to defend him rather than to line up behind Pope Francis. And finally, it has forced Trumps Republican presidential opponents to defend him. And all the while, the news cycle is magnifying Trumps stature and visibility, without him having to spend a dime on publicity and marketing.
It is impossible to plan such a beneficial blowup, but Trump seems to generate these types of news events over and over again. He should thank Pope Francis for his help in his march towards the presidency of the United States.
Source: dailycaller.com
https://youtu.be/0q01eeeFIjs
Now, both men have pulled back on their attacks against the other:
Earlier this week, a new feud, between Pope Francis and Donald Trump erupted, and many criticized the Pope’s comments as highly hypocritical. Now, the Vatican seems to be attempting to clarify and walk back what the Pope said and what he meant.
The Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, has issued a clarification regarding the Pope’s remarks to journalists Thursday, when he said, in answer to a question about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, that a person who only thinks of building walls and not about building bridges is no Christian.
Aboard the plane returning from Mexico to Rome, the Pope answered Reuters reporter Phil Pullella by saying, “I would only say: if he said these things, this man is no Christian. But we’d have to see whether he said these things. And in this matter, I would give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Since news reports bore headlines suggesting that the Pope had denied Trump’s Christianity, and other comments by the Pope had also caused some confusion, the papal spokesman released a statement Friday in an effort to clarify what the Pope was trying to say.
Lombardi said that Pope-watchers know that Francis is always repeating that we should not build walls but bridges. “He repeats this over and over, constantly, and he has also said it many times regarding the issue of migration in Europe,” he said. “So it is not a specific issue, limited to this case” but part of his general attitude, consistent with “following the Gospel directives of welcome and solidarity.”
It seems that Trump is also backing away from the confrontation, as well.
Still, the latest developments indicate that both men are now tap-dancing away from a showdown in the absolute crock-osseum. As is his custom, having got the airplay for something, Trump is now blithely backtracking. At a town hall in South Carolina on Thursday evening, he dropped what would once have sounded like a line from South Park but now feels like just another day’s news in this psychotropically unconventional campaign. Actually, he mused: “I don’t like fighting with the pope.” Well quite. It’s like the new political dictum goes: never fight with a pope.
Let’s be glad we can put this odd saga behind us, as these two men have. It’s a battle in which their were no possible winners, only losers.
Source: Truth and Action
Janis Woodham Trump may have had a recent conversion experience. I hope so.But Trump does not attend church which is very telling in regards to his priorities. But if any other candidate had the extreme liberal positions that Trump had as recently as 7 year years ago that person would never be considered as a candidate for the GOP. We’re not talking about just a change of mind but an extreme flip flop in almost every area except for his troubling continued support for private use of eminent domain. (an yes Trump did try to force an elderly widow out of her home)
If he said that this pope doesn’t believe you need Jesus to be saved——–that is truth.