Donald Trump has entered into a war of words with Pope Francis over comments about his immigration policy. The Donald’s verbal attacks against the patriarch of the Roman Catholic church, nicknamed the Vicar of God, came when a statement from Pope Francis appeared to condemn a Trump-proposed wall across the US-Mexican border.
Currently the front-runner in the race to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Trump has made immigration a cornerstone of his campaign from the beginning. He has proposed to deport 11 million undocumented migrants, along with their families, and promised a wall that Mexico’s government would be forced to pay for.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,” said the Pope, in response to a question about this immigration policy. The property mogul and reality TV star retorted that his comments were “disgraceful.”
Pope Francis has been on somewhat of a world tour over the past several months, scheduling trips to Cuba and Mexico from February 12 to 18. In the heat of the US presidential primaries, Pope Francis weighed in when asked about Trump’s policies during his Mexico visit.
Donald Trump further stated that the Pope had no right to criticise his religious convictions. “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Trump said.
The billionaire added:”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.”
Today, however, Trump seemed to soften his tone, praising the Pope’s energy, and claiming he liked Pope Francis’ personality. As the US presidential primary season rolls on, this could be seen as a ploy by Trump to ensure he stays in the lead. The next battle in the Republican cycle is in the highly religious state of South Carolina. Though polls have shown The Donald leading, a highly publicised spat with the head of Catholicism may not be good for the brand.
Trump is leading the pack, heading to South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday, with 17 delegates. His closest rival is Ted Cruz, who has 11, followed by Marco Rubio, with 10. Trump, who once led in the South Carolina polls by 16 points, has seen his lead slashed to just 5 points in the latest polls.
Trump’s somewhat conciliatory comments may be an attempt to salvage a lead, and avoid being foiled once again by Ted Cruz, as he was in Iowa. As the GOP presidential primary bandwagon heads into the Palmetto State, so named after the native Carolinan palm tree, the battle for the White House wages on. The Democrats continue their race to select a nominee, with Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton neck-and-neck in the polls heading into the Nevada caucuses on Saturday.
