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The president told reporters at the White House on Monday he
would not apologize because the pope said things that were
wrong.
“He went public. I’m just responding to Pope Leo. You know his
brother is a big MAGA person and he’s a great guy, Louis. I
said, ‘I like Louis better than I like the pope,’” Trump said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said in a
social media post it was wrong for the president to mock the
pope and to post an image of himself appearing to be like Jesus
Christ.
On Tuesday, Bailey told The Center Square that the president’s
posts were totally inappropriate.
“There's no doubt about that. Secondly, we all make mistakes. We
say things in the heat of the moment, and I know that firsthand.
A simple apology and a little humility can go a long way to
fixing that,” Bailey said.
Trump endorsed Bailey for governor in 2022 and urged the Xenia
Republican to stay in the 2026 race after a helicopter crash
claimed the lives of Bailey’s son Zachary, daughter-in-law
Kelsey and grandchildren Vada Rose and Samuel last October.
“I think it would be huge if he would just back up, admit the
mistake, call it as it is and apologize to the people, apologize
to the Church and honestly, honestly, apologize to the pope,”
Bailey said.
As a fellow Christian, Bailey said it is an honor to have the
first pope from America, and he hoped Leo being from Chicago had
nothing to do with the president’s disdain.
Diocese of Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron is an Illinois
native who serves on the president’s Religious Liberty
Commission.
In a social media post, Barron said he thinks the president owes
the pope an apology and recommended that serious Catholics in
the Trump administration meet with Vatican officials so a real
dialogue can take place.
NBC Chicago reported that before he became pope, Robert Prevost
voted in Illinois Republican primary elections in 2012, 2014 and
2016.
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