Pope: 1, Trump: 0 in Passive-Aggressive Gift Exchange

Pope Francis has not been shy about criticizing Donald Trump in the past, nor has he been shy about holding opinions that may be unpopular with other Catholics, and Trump’s visit to Vatican City proved no different. If God isn’t going to step up and do some well-deserved smiting, it looks like the pope is taking matters into his own hands.

Previously, Pope Francis has said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” in reference to Trump, and he gave a serious rebuke to “populist,” nationalist politics more recently. He’s also made non Trump-related waves in the past on topics like abortion, the wage gap, evolution, space aliens, and treating LGBTQIA people like human beings—revolutionary stuff!—as well as climate change.

The pope even went so far as to send out an “encyclical” letter about caring for the very Earth that religious people are so quick to tell everyone god created for us, and it specifically pointed to human beings as drivers of climate change. When it came time to exchange gifts with Trump, that letter is exactly what the pope handed over, in addition to another papal writing that challenges capitalism and the “idolatry of money,” along with a third on families and a medal symbolizing peace. (Trump gifted the pope many things related to Martin Luther King Jr., presumably to show he knows who that is.)

Apparently, the pope is a master of passive-aggression. Austen Ivereigh, author of biography of Pope Francis, told CNN, “He hates direct confrontation, and always avoids it. He doesn’t believe in humiliating or criticizing people directly.” Yeah, he prefers to do it on Twitter and through gifts that are about as subtle as a smack in the face. Perhaps he learned it from god, who’s more than content to freeze us out verbally but send very obvious signals.

The pope wasn’t the only one giving Trump a hard time, either. As happens basically anytime he does or says anything, the Orange Overlord is the butt of the joke yet again over a photo op in which no one appears to be happy but him:

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is trying to understand why Trump would just go and tell someone where we have nuclear submarines, which kind of ruins the whole point of submarines. (Because he’s a vain baby-man who likes to brag.) Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!

(image: GeorgeVieiraSilva41 / Shutterstock.com)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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