Donald Trump and Pope Frances tangled in a war of words on Thursday, over whether or not Trump was "Christian" because of his stance on immigration.
As you might imagine, Trump was not happy about this, and had quite a bit to say, calling Francis "disgraceful" for questioning his faith.
But much like Trump's positions on well, everything, he was for Pope Francis before he was against him. We combed Trump's Twitter for the evidence.
Happier times with Francis
Oh, spring 2013. Such heady times with a new pope! Even Trump was swept up in the excitement.
Congratulations to my Catholic friends on the selection of Pope Francis I to lead the Catholic Church. People that know him love him!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2013
The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2013
Trump even wanted Pope Francis on his show!
"@mgmacdon: @realDonaldTrump if they had to say yes, who would your first pick to be on the celebrity apprentice?" The Pope!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2014
Though, Trump certainly had some thoughts about papal behavior.
I don’t like seeing the Pope standing at the checkout counter (front desk) of a hotel in order to pay his bill. It’s not Pope-like!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2013
Still, the papacy is at least one topic about which Trump never harbored delusions of grandeur.
@ilpostio That's why I'll never be Pope!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2013
Defender of the Catholic Church
Lest we think Trump's (now-former) love of the pope was limited to just the pontiff, other tweets show that he had the Catholic Church's best interests at heart, dating back to the surprising resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013.
The Pope should not have resigned—he should have lived it out. It hurts him, it hurts the church...— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2013
But his defense goes back even further than that, to the election cycle of 2012.
ObamaCare is an attack on our country's identity. The latest victim is the Catholic church. It must be full repealed. @BarackObama— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2012
The Church is yet another victim to his liberal agenda: @BarackObama lied to his Catholic supporters to pass ObamaCare.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2012
He also didn't appreciate jokes at the expense of the church.
.@billmaher has continually degraded Catholic Church on the joke he calls a show http://t.co/KzgtbWc87O Catholics should boycott HBO.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2013
"Here's the church, here are the people..."
Aside from his defense of the Catholic church, the word "church" doesn't appear very often in Trump's timeline. But when it does, it carries some weight.
"@Bgara2011: MrTrump, today @ church preacher said that if Abraham was modern he would be someone like you. Thought you should know." Thanks— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2014
#TBT My confirmation picture at First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, NY. http://t.co/fzewcDrjz6— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2014
The word has appeared three times, though, in this election cycle.
Same goes for the words "Christian" and "Christianity." Though it appears predominantly in relation to the plights of pastors being persecuted in other countries, the other main reference, pre-2016 cycle, to the word "Christian" is in this context.
If Christian Bale turned down $50M to return as Batman he should have his head examined. What was he thinking?!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2013