CNN’s Jake Tapper Savages Trump Team ‘Spring of Sacrilege’ Amid Jesus Comparisons and Pope Attacks

CNN anchor Jake Tapper blasted the Trump team’s “Spring of Sacrilege” in a scathing commentary on President Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV and a string of Jesus-related outrages 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.

He ended the week still locked in a one-sided feud with Pope Leo, and with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth taking heat for a rant attacking the press and casting them as “Pharisees” to Trump’s Jesus.

On Thursday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper belittled Hegseth and his “warped” view of the press, and delivered a scathing blow-by-blow of Trump’s attacks on the pope:

TAPPER: That headline however on the war was far from the most attention grabbing remarks in this briefing. Instead, the former weekend “Fox and Friends” cohost invoked the Pharisees quote, “the so called and self-appointed elites of their time there to witness, to write everything down to report” who, quote, “even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter. They were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda.”

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Our press are just like these Pharisees. Not all of you, not all of you, but the legacy Trump hating press. Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors. The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: No one’s doubting the warriors. I think the skepticism is of the leaders of the warriors. Hegseth there likening the news media to the Pharisees, opponents of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. So in Hegseth’s analogy, doubting Donald Trump is like doubting Jesus Christ and covering the war on Iran with skepticism of Trump’s claims and Hegseth’s claims, many of which have to be kind not proven accurate is, I suppose, the same thing as doubting the miracles of Jesus. What a warped view of what the news media is supposed to do and what a view he seems to have of this war.

And frankly, what better way to cap off a spring of sacrilege by the Trump team. To recap, late last month, during a religious service at the Pentagon, Hegseth recited a prayer for the troops that he said originated from a military chaplain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Overwhelming violence. A few days later, Pope Leo appeared to rebuke those remarks, saying, quote, “God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have hands full of blood.” Then came Easter Sunday with Trump’s profane Truth Social post, quote, “Open the fucking straits, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell. Just watch, unquote.” He also said, with apparent sarcasm, “Praise be to Allah.”

And somewhat predictably, a few days later, Trump went after the Pope in a long Truth Social rant, attacking the pontiff for not being tough enough on crime, among other criticisms. Then the vice president, a convert to Catholicism, he weighed in yesterday, saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that it’s important in the same way that it’s important for the vice president United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So while J.D. Vance, who said that Haitians were eating their dogs and cats, apparently fancies himself a theologian who has the standing to reprimand the pontiff, Trump also seems to fancy himself a medical professional. That was his excuse, at least for posting this AI generated image of himself as Jesus Christ. After an avalanche of backlash, much of it from his supporters, Trump took down the post, claiming he thought it merely had depicted him as a doctor. And as if that wasn’t enough, the president later posted another AI generated image of Jesus with his armed — his arms draped around the president. A lot of evangelical Christians and conservative elites who normally support President Trump called him out on some of this.

Today, the Pope got another word in saying the world is being, quote, “ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” unquote, who spend billions of dollars on war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV: Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers, but woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.

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