Pope says Trump ‘not a Christian’; Trump calls critique ‘disgraceful’

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump cannot claim to be a Christian, Pope Francis said Thursday, after the billionaire vowed to build a border wall to keep out immigrants.

“Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian,” the pontiff told journalists during his return journey from a trip to Mexico in response to a question about Trump’s anti-immigrant stance.

“Vote, don’t vote, I won’t meddle,” said Francis. Not having heard Trump’s border plans independently, the pope said he’d “give him the benefit of the doubt.” But he added: “But I simply say, if he says these things, this man is not a Christian.”

His remarks drew swift condemnation from the outspoken Republican presidential candidate, who described them as “disgraceful”.

Trump said the Pope should wish that he is elected to the White House: “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,” he said. “ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.”

He charged that the Mexican government 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, he said, 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.”

“For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” Trump added. “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.”

The candidate used to an outspoken admirer of Francis. In 2013, he tweeted that the then-new pope “is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!”

The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2013

Trump has gained in popularity by claiming Mexico is sending criminals and rapists over to the United States, and last week he accused the pope of visiting the border between the two countries at the bidding of the Mexican government.

“Am I an instrument of the Mexican government? I leave that to your judgement, to the people to judge,” Francis said.

Trump, the brash real estate tycoon from New York, has promised to end illegal immigration by building a wall along the Mexican border.

Trump’s first TV ad, which was unveiled on Monday, uses footage that shows migrants fleeing Morocco to the tiny Spanish enclave of Melilla in 2014.

The Mexican-US border stretches more than 3,100 kilometres (1,950 miles), but only around a third is marked by high-security fencing.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re sending people that have lots of problems… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” Trump said in June.

The candidate-pope back-and-forth came as Republicans face South Carolina’s high-stakes primary on Saturday. Polls indicate that Trump has a large lead in South Carolina and other states. The Democratic race remains close, with Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders facing off in the Nevada caucuses on Saturday.

Another win for Trump, or Sanders, after their New Hampshire victories would indicate that they are contenders who can’t be dismissed.

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has secured the coveted endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as he tries to win over mainstream Republicans.

Addressing the pope’s comments, Rubio on Thursday said Vatican City has a right to control its borders and so does the United States. Rubio previously favored a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally, but now says border security is the priority.

Rubio, a Catholic, added that he has “tremendous respect and admiration” for the Pope and that “there’s no nation on earth that’s more compassion on immigration than we are.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is trying to rally the Republican Party’s most conservative wing. More than 300 pastors and other religious leaders in South Carolina on Thursday endorsed him for president. Cruz’s win in the Iowa caucuses was fueled by a similar coalition of evangelical support.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich continue to battle for a spot at the table, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson struggles for relevancy.

Among the Democrats, the fight for the support of women and the black and Latino votes continued. Sanders met with civil rights leaders in Washington, vowing to help black Americans escape poverty and protect voting rights.

Also Thursday, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs distanced the senator from comments by rapper Killer Mike, who told a rally this week that “a uterus doesn’t qualify you to be president of the United States,” a reference to Clinton.

Briggs said Sanders doesn’t “believe that gender should be the reason we vote for or against anyone.”

Clinton is still adding to her wide lead in the delegates who will decide the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, according to an Associated Press survey of the party’s 712 superdelegates. The superdelegates are party insiders who can support the candidate of their choice, regardless of whom the voters back in the primaries.

Clinton has added 87 to her count, while Sanders added just 11. That gives the former secretary of state a total of 481 delegates, while the Vermont senator has 55. It takes 2,382 delegates to win the nomination.