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47
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You may have heard about a little thing called the Reformation. After all, it was in all the papers. Since that time, Protestants and Roman Catholics have sometimes had trouble getting along, whether we're talking the 30 Years War, or The Troubles, or a long list of other unpleasantries. This weekend, however, Donald Trump managed to bring the two sides together. This was not exactly what he planned, however, as the thing they are in agreement upon is "Donald Trump is an a**hole."
Let's start with the Catholics. Pope Leo XIV is no fan of violent war in the Middle East, and has spoken up several times in the past few weeks in response to the Iran fiasco. Leo might just have picked this up from his predecessor Francis, who was also not a fan of violent war in the Middle East, and who also spoke up. Francis might just have gotten this from his predecessor, Benedict XIV, who—wait for it—did not like violent war in the Middle East, and was happy to share that view with the world. Benedict probably learned from his predecessor, John Paul II, who was opposed to violent war in the Middle East, and who piped up anytime there was such a war going on. Here is a speech he gave in 2003, condemning the Iraq War, and here is a prayer he delivered in 1980, condemning the then-ongoing violence in Iran.
Point is, Leo is right in step with the popes of the 21st century. Still, Trump is persuaded that what is going on here is personal, and that Leo would not be saying what he's saying, if it was some president other than Trump who was committing war crimes in Iran. And so, Trump got on his sacrilegious social media site to unspool another unhinged masterpiece, aimed squarely at the current Bishop of Rome:
Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about "fear" of the Trump Administration, but doesn't mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn't! I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn't on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo's Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It's hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it's hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Admittedly, it is like shooting fish in a barrel, but let's do a little light fisking of Trump's message:
We understand that Trump fights whatever "enemy" he perceives, no matter who they might be. But the fact is that the best-case scenario for him here is that MAGA Catholics find a way they can support both their spiritual leader and their political leader, even despite the obvious bad behavior from Trump. We don't believe there is anyone who will say, "Well, I can't be a Catholic and also MAGA anymore, so I choose MAGA." We do believe there are people who might say, "Well, I can't be a Catholic and also MAGA anymore, so I choose the Church."
Some of MAGAworld tried to line up behind Trump's obvious anti-Catholicism. For example, Fox entertainer Sean Hannity suggested that Leo isn't actually familiar with the content of the Bible. After all, observed the noted theologian Hannity, there are wars in the Bible, so war must be a good thing. Perhaps someone should point out to him that the Bible also has incest, rape and murder. All good things, right Sean? Similarly, hardcore MAGA grifter Hal Lambert went on CNN to allege that this is all a vast Chicago conspiracy between the Chicago-born pope, and the one-time-Chicago-resident Barack Obama. Somehow he forgot to get that Cubs billy goat in there.
Leo, for his part, is unimpressed by all of this, and said yesterday that Trump does not understand the Gospel (true), and that the Bible very clearly says "Blessed are the peacemakers," and that he (Leo) is not afraid of the President. In short, what Leo was saying, albeit in very diplomatic language, is osculum meum asinum.
But again, the point here is that Trump is a unifier. That is because, not too long after insulting the Pope (and, by extension, all Catholics), he managed to infuriate Protestants (particularly evangelicals) with this posting:
Trump's affinity for AI slop, as long as he's the central and heroic figure, is really kind of remarkable. This piece feels like what you would get if you brought Norman Rockwell back to life, and then had him drop acid. For example, what exactly is that figure above Trump's head and to the right? A valkyrie? Voltron? The Green Goblin?
Predictably—well, predictably to everyone except Trump, apparently—many Christians, especially evangelicals, found the Trump-as-Jesus image to be blasphemous, and they blasted him (blaphsted him?) for it. It's always interesting to see where these followers of Jesus draw the line. We know that Jesus' dad is not a big fan of graven images, but if you chatted with Jesus himself, and said: "I started a violent war in the Middle East... and oh, I also shared a picture where I am made to look like you," we have a pretty good idea of which one the Lamb of God would be more upset about. And it's NOT the one that has the evangelicals in a tizzy.
The response to all of this has not been good. A far-from-exhaustive list of folks who have slammed Trump, for one reason or another, since his Mephistophelian posting spree, includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, thousands of Catholics on reddit, Trump supporter and Fox commentator Bishop Robert Barron, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), conservative podcaster Riley Gaines, Marjorie Taylor Greene, evangelical writer Megan Basham and outspoken pro-Trump pastor Joel Webbon. Webbon has gone so far as to declare that Trump is "possessed by demons." To which we say: "You just now noticed?"
In any event, Trump refused to apologize to the Pope. Either the President doesn't think he needs Catholic support, or he doesn't think that crapping on the Vicar of Christ will actually cause Catholics to abandon MAGA. On the other hand, Trump offered up a ridiculous explanation for the AI Image ("I thought it was me as a doctor") and then deleted it from his social media accounts. We suppose we'll see if that undoes the damage. (Z)