Donald Trump on Pope Francis: “I Don’t Like The Little Car”

The presidential candidate and real estate mogul commented on the pope — and his beloved wheels — when Francis' motorcade went by Trump Tower.

There’s a good profile on Donald Trump in Forbes this week, based around the obsession Trump and other billionaires have with their position on the Forbes 4001. It’s mainly about Trump, though, and his personal, decades-long push to get up the list.

Editor Randall Lane, a Penn grad who was managing editor of the Daily Pennsylvanian in college, hung with Trump last week for the profile.

During an interview, the Pope is about to pass by the Trump Tower — now there’s an image — and Trump asks to cut the interview short so he can go see the procession. Makes sense. Then there’s this awesome section:

The famous Popemobile idles perhaps 50 feet under us, waiting for its passenger. (Trump isn’t a fan of its open sides: “That’s a dangerous-looking sucker.” And he’s even less impressed by the very modest, un-Trump-like Fiat that Francis is arriving in. “I don’t like the little car. He’s trying to be ‘of the people,’ but I don’t know. It just doesn’t look right.”)

Also 50 feet below: thousands of people who’ve lined Fifth Avenue for a papal glimpse. Given the pool of New York City Catholics and the visit of an Argentinian pope, they’re roughly half Latino. (“Fran-cis-co, Fran-cis-co,” went the cheers as the pontiff approached.) Not exactly Trump’s base. For once, Trump wasn’t looking for attention: “I’ll look like an idiot. … This is the pope’s day.” But lately, especially at 6-foot-3, with that mane, he doesn’t have a choice. So Trump waves from his perch, an orange-haired Juan Perón.

Isn’t this amazing? On one hand, Trump shows his attention grabbing is more calculated than you might think — he realizes he can’t look like he’s upstaging the pope — and then at the same time says he doesn’t like the small Fiat the pope is riding around in.

We can only assume President Trump will ride around in the most luxurious, classy Trumpmobile, surrounded by bulletproof glass on all sides.


1Yes, Forbes is reporting on how important people on the list think the Forbes 400 is. But I’ve seen how much people want to win a Philadelphia magazine Best of Philly award, so this checks out.

[Forbes]

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