How big is Donald Trump's 'massive Catholic problem,' really?

Pope Francis and Donald trump argue over the gospels
(Image credit: Alessandro Di Meo (AFP)-Steve Pope/Getty)

Hey, remember that time Donald Trump got in a high-profile fight with Pope Francis? Well, it appears that American Catholics might, and while that may not be the root cause of Trump's "massive Catholic problem," as diagnosed by The Washington Post's Aaron Blake, calling a popular pope a stooge for the Mexican government isn't a great first impression to make on a key swing bloc of voters. Blake calls Trump's weakness among Catholics "one of the really undersold story lines of the 2016 election," and has a chart showing how much better Hillary Clinton is faring among Catholics against Trump than President Obama performed in 2012, when, according to exit polls, he beat Republican Mitt Romney by 2 percentage points among Catholics.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.