Donald Trump says he'd use ISIS to 'scare the pope' into supporting capitalism
Donald Trump sat down with CNN's Chris Cuomo for an extended interview that aired Wednesday night, and near the end Cuomo asked Trump if he would like to meet Pope Francis on the pontiff's upcoming visit. "Well, I'm Protestant, but I have great respect for the pope," Trump said. "I like the pope — he's becoming very political, but I like him. He seems like a good guy."
Okay, said Cuomo, but what would Trump say if the pope told him, through a translator, that "capitalism can be a real avenue to greed, it can be really toxic and corrupt," while shaking a finger in his direction? "I'd say, 'ISIS wants to get you,'" Trump replied, mentioning an apparent dream of Islamic State to conquer Rome. "He talks to you about capitalism, you scare the pope?" Cuomo said, surprised. "I'm going to have to scare the pope," Trump said. "The pope, I hope, can only be scared by God," he added after some thought, "but they'd better hope that capitalism works."
Watch the full exchange below. Peter Weber
The Week
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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.
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