‘He's got an awfully big wall at the Vatican, I will tell you!’ Trump can’t resist poking fun at the Pope as he plays down spat with 'misinterpreted' Francis and suggests Mexican government is to blame
Trump softened his approach to the Pope hours after calling him 'disgraceful' for questioning his Christianity
During a CNN televised town hall, he said the Pontiff's statement was actually 'softer' than what the media had first reported
Trump suggested that the government of Mexico had used Francis as a pawn and prodded him into making a statement critical of him
He also said he would meet with the Catholic cleric 'any time he wants'
Day-long tiff erupted when the Pope criticized Trump for wanting to build a wall on America's southern border
Trump pointed out that Francis lives behind a massive wall that circles the Vatican
See more of the latest on Donald Trump and his spat with Pope Francis
By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com
Published: 23:43 EST, 18 February 2016 | Updated: 08:34 EST, 19 February 2016
Donald Trump struck a hybrid tone Thursday night on his day-long tiff with the Vatican, saying he thought Pope Francis' comments about his faith were overblown – but poking fun at the Pontiff for living in a city surrounded by a giant protective wall.
'I think it was probably a little bit nicer statement than was reported by you folks in the media,' Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a presidential town hall broadcast.
'Because after I read it, it was a little bit softer. But the bottom line is we've got to have a border, we've got to have security. We have tremendous illegal immigration in the country.'
'He also talked about [how] having a wall is not Christian,' Trump observed of the Pope's words.
'And he's got an awfully big wall at the Vatican, I will tell you.'
Trump reiterated his months-long contention that 'we're going to build a wall, and Mexico's going to pay for the wall. And that's the way it is.'
When Cooper reminded Trump that 'people do come and go through the Vatican, and it's open to tourists,' Trump pounced.
'They're going to come and go through the wall' he will erect on America's southern border,' he said, 'but they're going to come and go legally. And that's what I want, and that's what a lot of people want, obviously.'
The global leader of the Roman Catholic Church told reporters early Thursday en route to Europe after a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border that 'a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.'
Minutes later Trump had taken a harsh line, saying the Pope was 'disgraceful' for declaring he was not a Christian.
But he shrugged hours later, suggesting that 'somehow the government of Mexico spoke with the Pope, I mean they spent a lot of time with the Pope. And by the time he left he made a statement.'
'I didn't think it was a good thing for him to say, frankly,' Trump jabbed.
'I don't like fighting with the Pope. I don't think this is a fight.'
'I think he said something much softer than what was originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government. He didn't see the tremendous strain that the border is causing us with respect to illegal immigration, [and] wiith the drugs pouring across the border.'
Trump recalled that during his successful campaign in New Hampshire, drug abuse – specifically heroin – was 'the biggest single problem' everywhere he went.
'They have a massive drug problem,' he said. 'We're gonna stop it. And it's pouring through the southern border.
The Donald said he would be interested in a sit-down with Francis to hash out their differences.
'I'll do it any time he wants. I mean, it would be very interesting,' he said.
'I like him. I mean, I like him as a personality. I like what he represents. And I certainly have great respect for the position.'
Cooper chuckled at recalling a 2015 Iowa event during which Trump told a skeptical audience of evangelical Christians that asking the Almighty for forgiveness wasn't a common ritual in his faith life.
'Was there a moment when you first heard the Pope had said something about you, that you thought, "Maybe I'm gonna have to ask for forgiveness?"' Cooper asked him.
'No,' he replied, as the studio audience laughed along with him.
'No. Look, I have a lot of respect for the Pope. I think he's got a lot of personality. He's very different. He's a very different kind of a guy. And I think he's doing a very good job. He's got a lot of energy.'
'But I'd say that I think he was very much misinterpreted. And I also think he was given false information.'
Trump said he wished Francis had 'heard our side, the side from people who live in the United States.'
HOW A RAID BY MUSLIM PIRATES PROMPTED VATICAN OFFICIALS TO BUILD THE WALL
Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world. An enormous stone wall acts as a boundary between the micronation and the rest of Italy.
Nowadays, it serves as a way for the Swiss Guard to control the stream of tourists coming in and out of the Pope's home.
But, just over 1,200 years ago, it was an integral form of protection for the Pope, who was a targeted figure after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire .
The fortification was first built after a raid by Muslim pirates in 846. Arab raiders sacked Rome in a bid to find treasures.
Watch towers were put in place to watch for would-be intruders.
It also helped to protect Pope Gregory VII around 200 years later when the Holy Roman Emperor besieged Rome.
The fortification was first built after a raid by Muslim pirates in 846. Arab raiders sacked Rome in a bid to find treasures. In the 19th century it kept the Pope separate from the rest of Italy
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The fortification was first built after a raid by Muslim pirates in 846. Arab raiders sacked Rome in a bid to find treasures. In the 19th century it kept the Pope separate from the rest of Italy
In the 1640s, Pope Paul III expanded the fortifications, and additional defenses.
In 1870, the Pope's residency in the Vatican was left in flux when Rome was annexed by the Piedmont-led forces which had united the rest of Italy.
They had created the Kingdom of Italy, a change opposed by Pope Pius XIII as it undermined his autonomy in some areas.
Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the 'Roman Question' and the walls served as a way of keeping him isolated from the rest of Italy.
Within the walls, Italian politicians did not challenge the Pope's autonomy. But, in other parts of the country, church items were confiscated.
In 1871, the Palazzo Quirinale, the Papal palace since 1583, was confiscated by the king of Italy and became the royal palace.
Thereafter, Popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls.
Certain papal prerogatives were recognized by the Law of Guarantees, including the right to send and receive ambassadors.
But the Popes did not recognise the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929.
Ever since the autonomy of the Vatican within the walls has not been challenged by the Italian government.
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