Link: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/pope-trump-homework/
Trump meeting with the Pope earlier this week was like being "sent to the principal's office". The current Pope is famously liberal, believing in uniting science and religion in the pursuit of bettering the world.
The Pope has refrained from criticizing the current United States President, even though Trump and Catholic Church have not always seen eye to eye. During their meeting, no reporters or journalists were allowed inside. No one is sure what the two spoke about for their 30-minute long discussion.
The two did exchange gifts. Trump gave the Pope a frist-edition set of books by the Rev. Martin Luther King. The Pope in return gave trump a medal of an olive tree, which the pontiff said symbolizes peace.
"We can use peace" Trump said.
Pope Francis also gave the President some summer reading: copies of his major writings.
The first is call "The Joy of the Gospel", which exhorts the Catholic Church to wake up from a spiritual slumber, and launches a fierce attack on modern capitalism. It blasts the "idolatry of money" and calls trickle-down economics "crude and naive".
The second is called "Laudato Si, which calls for a revolution to halt climate change. Trump is known to believe climate change is a hoax. Currently, the United States is considering reneging on the Paris Climate Agreement.
Do you think that Pope Francis' gifts will have an impact on Trump's upcoming decisions and term as the United States President? Why or why not?
The world certainly took note of the Pope's gesture. I think that although the President may have seen the point he was trying to make, it will not be enough to change his public opinion and domestic policies concerning climate change. The gifts may add some pressure to observe the Paris Climate Agreement, however, given that he is now aware that this interaction has been seen by the entire world.
ReplyDeleteAfter everything Trump has done and said, I don't see him being impacted by the message the Pope was trying to get across to him. With the G7 summit happening this weekend, Trump hasn't made any statement that would make me think that he is in favor of fighting against issues like climate change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kriti. At the G7 summit, Trump declined to join G7 leaders in affirming the Paris climate accord and that is telling given that he is making a final decision on the agreement next week.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what effect the gifts will have, if any. It'll be interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteI also do not expect this to make an impact. Although the Pope is a very important world figure, it does not mean that this gift will make an impact on Trump's policy.
ReplyDeleteI do not think there will be any impact. He is innately that way and material things wont necessarily alter his behavior in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zoe
ReplyDeleteI don't think this will impact Trump at all... he kinda does his own thing regardless
ReplyDeleteI do not think that the gifts given to the president will have any impact on how he behaves. As we have seen already, Trump is going to do what he wants to do, whenever.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not think the gifts will effect Trump's decision much, I think the Pope's gifts were a stab at how trump's handled the situation with North Korea.
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