Trump to Pope Francis: We can use peace
VATICAN CITY (AP) — US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City yesterday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe.
Trump, midway through his grueling nine-day maiden international journey, called upon the pontiff at the Vatican early yesterday where the two had a private 30-minute meeting laden with religious symbolism and ancient protocol. The president, accompanied by his wife and several aides, arrived at the Vatican just after 8 a.m. local time.
The president greeted Francis in Sala del Tronetto, the room of the little throne, on the second floor of Apostolic Palace yesterday morning.
Upon completing their meeting, the pope gave the president a medal featuring an olive branch, a symbol of peace, among other gifts.”We can use peace,” the president responded.
The visit began with a handshake between the two men. Trump could be heard thanking the pope and saying it was “a great honor” to be there. They then posed for photographs and then sat down at the papal desk, the pope unsmiling, as their private meeting began.
It ended a half hour later when Francis rang the bell in his private study. The pontiff was then introduced to members of Trump’s delegation, including his wife Melania, his daughter Ivanka and sonin-law Jared Kushner, as well as aides Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino.
Smiling for the staff, Francis had a light moment with the First Lady, asking via translator, “What do you give him to eat, pizza?”Melania giggled and said “Pizza? Yes.”
As is tradition, the pope and president exchanged gifts. Trump presented the pontiff some books written by Martin Luther King Jr, sayingthem. The I “I hope pope think you you’ll presenteddo.” enjoy Trump message withof peacethe and medal, threea bound papal documents that to some degree define his papacy and priorities. When Trump departed, he told the pope: “Thank you, I won’t forget what you said.” Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, had a private audience with Francis at the Vatican in 2014 that lasted 50 minutes. But the timing yesterday was tight as Francis had his weekly Wednesday general audience, the thousands of pilgrims on hand forced Trump’s motorcade to enter Vatican City from a side entrance rather than the grand entrance through St. Peter’s Square.
The meeting, which concluded Trump’s tour of the world’s largest monotheistic religions, could provide powerful imagery to Catholic voters back in the United States as well as the possibility for conflict between a president and a pope who have not often seen eye-to-eye.
The two collided head-on early last year, when Francis was sharply critical of Trump’s campaign pledge to build an impenetrable wall on the Mexican border and his declaration that the United States should turn away Muslim immigrants and refugees.
”A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said then.
The pontiff has been a vocal advocate for aiding refugees, particularly those fleeing the violence in Syria, deeming it both a “moral imperative” and “Christian duty” to help. Trump then called Francis “disgraceful” for doubting his faith.
Trump arrived in Rome Tuesday evening, his motorcade closing a busy Italian highway just after rush hour and prompting hundreds of onlookers to briefly step out of their gridlocked cars to gawk at the fleet of armored vehicles.