Trump held first face-to-face talks with Pope Francis
U.S. President Trump and Pope Francis, who clashed sharply during the presidential campaign, set aside their differences as they met on Wednesday at the Vatican, where they exchanged gifts and discussed the need for peace, The New York Post reported.
“Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world,” Trump tweeted after their first face-to-face sit-down, one of the few times he has taken to the message site during his first overseas trip as president.
The president — accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner — arrived in the presidential motorcade and Francis in a Ford Focus. The two men shook hands and Trump could be heard saying it was “a great honor” to meet the pontiff.
The two men held a private meeting in the Sala del Tronetto, “the room of the little throne,” on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace for about 30 minutes.
Afterward, the pope handed Trump a small olive tree. “It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace,” Francis said in Spanish. “We can use peace,” Trump replied.
The source reminds, that the pope and the president had a contentious relationship during the presidential election, with the pontiff striking out against Trump’s stand on immigration and especially his pledge to build a wall on the Mexican border.
Francis said Trump should be thinking of creating a bridge, not a barrier, and called people who believed in walls “not Christian.” Trump termed Francis’ comments “disgraceful.”