Donald Trump softens stand against Pope after row

Hours after calling Pope Francis’ explosive remarks against him “disgraceful”, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump in a damage-control move appeared to have mellowed down his outburst saying he does not “like fighting with Pope”.

The pontiff in a criticism of the controversial real-estate tycoon had said that Mr Trump cannot claim to be a Christian and slammed his comments on immigration in particular building a wall along the US-Mexico border. Mr Trump, 69, in a swift reaction had fired back at the Pope calling Francis’s remarks “disgraceful” but later softened his stand on the Catholic leader.

“I don’t like fighting with the Pope, actually. I don’t think this is a fight. I think he said something much softer than was originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government,” Mr Trump said. “I have a lot of respect for the Pope. I think he’s got a lot of personality. He’s a very different kind of a guy, and I think he’s doing a very good job. He’s a lot of energy,” Mr Trump said at a townhall organised by CNN in South Carolina.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Pope Francis had told reporters. “Thank God he said I was a politician, because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ So at least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn — well, maybe, I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people,” said the 79-year-old leader.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump says the invasion of Iraq was possibly the worst decision made by a US President but acknowledged he may have initially supported the move. Asked if the report was accurate, Mr Trump recognised: “I could have said that.” “I wasn’t a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question,” Mr Trump said.