CNN’s Jake Tapper Roasts Trump For Blurting ‘I’m All About the Gospel!’: ‘Putting Aside the Fact-Check—’

CNN anchor Jake Tapper roasted President Donald Trump for blurting out “I’m all about the gospel!” as reporters pressed him about his attack on Pope Leo XIV this week.

The president began the week angering many in his own base with a now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus — which he claimed he thought carried medical connotations rather than messianic ones. Many MAGA supporters weren’t buying.

Trump ended the week still locked in a one-sided feud with Pope Leo, which several reporters grilled him about during a press gaggle on Thursday. The president, among other things, had occasion to claim “I’m all about the gospel. I’m about it as much as anybody can be.”

On Thursday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper opened his show with a blistering commentary about Trump’s “Spring of Sacrilege,” after which he and his panel guests reviewed a clip of Trump’s claim.

A nonplussed Tapper raised his eyebrows and snarked “putting aside the fact check on whether or not he’s about the gospel as much as anybody can be…”:

TAPPER: I certainly hope so. We all certainly hope so.

Jamie, the president was asked by reporters about a group of bishops that put out a statement saying the Pope was not exercising his opinion on war. He’s preaching the gospel. Take a — take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I want him to preach the gospel. I’m all about the gospel. But I also know that you cannot let a certain country, which is a very mean spirited country, have a nuclear weapon. If they did, they would use it and I think they’d use it quickly and they would kill many millions of people. So, you know, the Pope could disagree with me on that, but certainly we’re allowed to have that.

I’m all about the gospel. I’m about it as much as anybody can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Putting aside the fact check on whether or not he’s about the gospel as much as anybody can be, which I think that would — anyway, moving on from that, what do you — what did you make of that response?

JAMIE GANGEL: So, fact check, first of all, the Pope is not talking about being in favor of nuclear weapons. He is talking about peace and trying to come to terms through diplomatic means. So this is not about his support of Iran having a nuclear weapon. I do think what we saw today just a little bit, was Donald Trump backpedaling a little bit —

TAPPER: Really?

GANGEL: — after all of the criticism just a little bit. Why is he getting into a fight with the Pope? I mean, I think he certainly has gotten the message that there was a recent NBC poll, the Pope in approval ratings is killing him by 50 percent difference. Maybe he’s jealous about that, but the reality is he did say today, I’m not fighting with the Pope. The Pope can say what he wants.

That’s a little bit different from, you know, accusing him and attacking him of weak on crime.

TAPPER: Yes.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.

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