Trump nearly snubbed the pope

(Image credit: EVAN VUCCI/AFP/Getty Images)

published 24 May 2017

President Trump very nearly became the first American president since World War II to forgo an audience with the pope, The New York Times reports.

Former President George W. Bush's ambassador to the Vatican, James Nicholson, helped set up the meeting between Trump and Pope Francis when he realized Trump's advisers were waiting for an invitation to the Vatican — apparently unaware that it was their responsibility to request the audience.

"They hadn't gotten an invitation, and I said, 'You'll never get an invitation,'" Nicholson said. He added that the historic significance of Trump missing an audience with the pope was "a data point that I was pretty persistent on." Read more dispatches from Trump's visit to the Vatican on Wednesday at The New York Times.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.