Trump's initial reaction to Pope's criticism: 'This is a disaster'

 

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump said Wednesday that when he heard Pope Francis had made critical comments against him right before the South Carolina primary, his first thought was, "This is a disaster."

"My people came up to me, they said, 'Mr. Trump, the Pope just made a big statement about you.' And I said, 'good or bad?' They said, 'Not good.' I said, 'Oh, this is a disaster,' " Trump told evangelical leader Pat Robertson during a Q&A at Regent University in Virginia.

But Trump said the hatchet was buried quickly.

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"He actually was very, very nice the next day," Trump said, repeating his claim that the Pope was misled by Mexican surrogates during a visit to Mexico. "Nobody explained to him about the crime, nobody explained to him about the drugs pouring across and the economy, and he was actually very nice."

But, he added: "You don't want to hear the day before the election that the Pope said something about you."

Last Thursday, Pope Francis was asked about Trump in Mexico, where he toured the border, and made a reference to the mogul's promise to build a wall on the border to stem illegal immigration into the United States.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel," the Pope told journalists.

He did not change course the next day, though the Vatican said the comments should be interpreted broadly, not just about Trump.

The topic arose with Robertson when Trump was talking about one of his top campaign issues -- border security -- and mentioned the dust-up with the Holy Father.

"You saw the Pope came out against me a little bit, but that was before he knew ... " Trump said.

Robertson interjected on Trump's behalf.

"He realizes he has a pretty big wall around the Vatican," Robertson joked.

While the Vatican does have walls, and some large, they are always open to visitors who want to walk through St. Peter's Square after going through metal detectors.

Trump said that the Pope's comments came as a shock to him. He has praised the Pope in the past.

"It was the day before the election, right? And I said to myself, 'Oh no,' " Trump told Robertson, misstating the timeline. The comments occurred two days before the primary.

RELATED: Trump romps in Nevada

Trump won the South Carolina primary by a wide margin, picking up all of the state's delegates. Virginia holds its primary next Tuesday.