Trump’s gambit |
FOR a man not known to be particularly religious, US President Donald Trump spent a lot of time on matters of faith last weekend, prompted, perhaps, by statements made by Pope Leo. The supreme head of the Catholic church had suggested that there was a “delusion of omnipotence fuelling the US-Iran war”. The pope, who does not usually indulge in such pointed criticism of world leaders, exclaimed: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.” His statements did not mention Trump by name, but it was him they were directed at.
All of this was just too much for Trump. The irate president shot back: “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon”. A little while later, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself apparently as Jesus, curing a man.
The move did not get the kind of response he wanted. Predictably, Trump’s detractors found such criticism of the pope, and such a comparison of himself with Jesus, astounding — but this time the critics included those who usually champion Trump. Riley Gaines, a Fox News podcaster and........