Vatican Wall Cartoon

Trump punches back against Pope just before crucial primary: Who does that?

Maybe Donald Trump was bored by boxing with Cruz, Rubio and Jeb and decided to punch up.
Maybe it was a heavenly gift that enabled Trump to hijack the news cycle once again.
Maybe it’s that the Pope landed the first blow.
Whatever the case, the Republican presidential front-runner is now engaged in a war of words with the leader of the Catholic Church.
I was stunned by this turn of events, which instantly blew other political stories off the media radar. Let’s put it this way: Suddenly, there’s not that much chatter about Nikki Haley endorsing Marco Rubio.
My initial reaction was to ask a question that’s been repeatedly raised since Trump got into the race. Has he finally, this time, gone too far?
Who picks a fight with the pontiff two days before a South Carolina primary in which you’ve got a big lead?
But it’s a little more complicated than that.
When Pope Francis visited America last fall, some conservatives objected to the way he injected himself into U.S. politics with what they view as left-of-center views on climate change, divorce and abortion. While the Pope also made comments that lean to the conservative side, he is identified with a message of tolerance as summed up in his response to a question about gays: “Who am I to judge?”
He is, apparently, willing to judge Donald Trump.
The stage was set when the Pope visited the Mexican side of the U.S. border and what he called a humanitarian crisis. When a Reuters reporter on the flight back to the Vatican asked about Trump, the pontiff declined to say whether Americans should vote for him, but added:
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”
The Pope said he would give Trump the benefit of the doubt until he saw what the billionaire has said. “I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.”
Trump did not turn the other cheek.
In a statement that he read in South Carolina, Trump said:
“If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened.”
Blaming disparaging remarks by the Mexican government, Trump said: “The Pope only heard one side of the story - he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States.”
And then there was this: “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian.”
Let’s just say Trump didn’t tone down his comments in taking on the world’s most famous religious leader. He stuck to his mantra of hitting back harder whenever he is hit.
On the other hand, Pope Francis did take a pretty hard shot in suggesting that Trump is “not Christian.” He could have taken issue with the candidate’s stance on immigration, or lack of charity toward the less fortunate, without challenging his religion—one of the strongest things a pope can say.
Since the other leading Republican candidates have similar policies on protecting the border, one could infer that Francis, who got along well with President Obama, has a particular dislike for Trump.
The worst interpretation for Trump: He alienated some Catholic voters (who are in a minority in South Carolina), and perhaps raised questions among evangelicals, among whom he is leading Ted Cruz in the state--although some may not be fans of the Vatican. Trump seems disrespectful in squaring off against a moral leader.
The best interpretation for Trump: He showed strength by not backing down, even against a pope. He reinforced his signature stance about building a wall at Mexico’s expense. And he stomped on any news that Rubio, Cruz or Bush might make in the closing days.
How will this play out in Saturday’s voting? Only heaven knows.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Fox News Poll: Trump still leads national race for GOP nomination

Donald Trump continues to dominate the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new Fox News national poll of registered voters.
Trump leads with 36 percent among self-identified GOP primary voters.  Ted Cruz captures 19 percent and Marco Rubio receives 15 percent.
CLICK TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
Jeb Bush and Ben Carson get nine percent a piece, and John Kasich gets eight percent.
The poll, released Thursday, was conducted Monday through Wednesday evenings -- after a heated Republican debate Saturday in South Carolina (and also after Valentine’s Day Sunday).
Trump’s success is due to his ability to make in-roads with core elements of the GOP base.

Fox News National Poll of Republican Voters | InsideGov

For example, white evangelical Christians voting in the GOP primary favor Trump (28 percent) and Cruz (26 percent) over Rubio (15 percent) and Carson (15 percent).
Cruz has a slim one-point edge over Trump among those who identify as “very” conservative (29-28 percent).  Another 16 percent back Rubio.
Men (40 percent) are more likely than women (32 percent) to make Trump their first choice.  Still, he’s the favorite for each.
Nearly six in 10 Republicans want the next president to be someone from outside the political establishment -- and those voters go heavily for Trump (55 percent vs. 15 percent for Cruz and 11 percent Carson).
Meanwhile, Trump is the candidate Republican voters trust to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Thirty-nine percent would put Trump in the room with Putin -- that’s more than double the 18 percent who say Cruz. Fourteen percent say Rubio and 10 percent Bush.
For those pundits who thought the Republican faithful would fall back in line when faced with the possibility of Trump making Supreme Court appointments, consider this: Trump ties Cruz as the candidate GOP primary voters think would do the best job handling nominations to the high court (26 percent each).
Taking into consideration that this is an election year, 62 percent of all voters say it is the responsibility of current leaders, President Obama and the Senate, to act to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Scalia’s recent death.  Compare that to 34 percent who think the president shouldn’t get to nominate someone for a life-time appointment this late in his term.
Despite Trump’s strengths in the primary race, he’s the weakest of the GOP candidates in hypothetical matchups against Clinton.  Rubio (+4) and Kasich (+3) perform best against Clinton.  Cruz and Bush each top Clinton by just one point.
Trump trails the Democrat by five points: Clinton 47 percent vs. Trump 42 percent. Sanders trounces Trump by 53-38 percent.
By a slim 49-48 percent, Republicans think Trump “has the temperament” to serve effectively as president, while voters overall say he doesn’t by 67-30.
Republicans say by 62-31 percent that Rubio “has the toughness” to serve effectively.  By comparison, most voters aren’t so sure:  43 percent say he does, while 46 percent disagree.
Is Cruz likeable enough to do the job?  By two-to-one most Republicans say he has the “personality” to serve effectively as president (65-30).  Overall, voters are more likely to say no (44 percent yes vs. 49 percent no).
Who could kids look up to in the White House?  GOP primary voters think Carson (26 percent) is the best role model for children today, while nearly half say Trump is the worst (49 percent).

Pollpourri
The president is on television -- a lot.  Voters say they would “most dread” watching Trump (40 percent) and Clinton (31 percent) on television for the next four years.  Democrats are more likely to say Trump (56 percent) than Republicans are to say Clinton (50 percent).
Independents? They would dread watching Trump the most (40 percent), followed by Clinton (27 percent).
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cellphone interviews with 1,031 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from February 15-17, 2016.  The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters, and 4.5 points for the Republican primary voter sample (404).

Trump endorsed Iraq invasion in 2002 radio interview

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tepidly endorsed invading Iraq in September 2002, contradicting his earlier insistence that he opposed the war before the March 2003 invasion.
Trump was asked about a possible war with Iraq during a five-minute phone interview with radio host Howard Stern on Sept. 11, 2002. In between Trump's recollections of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack on the World Trade Center and his thoughts on rebuilding the Twin Towers, Stern asked the billionaire real estate developer, "Are you for invading Iraq?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Trump responded. "You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly," an apparent reference to the Gulf War. A month after the interview, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing military action against Iraq.
The audio was first reported late Thursday by Buzzfeed News.
For months, Trump has cited his opposition to the Iraq War as evidence of his foreign policy judgement. When asked about the statement during a CNN town hall in South Carolina Thursday, Trump initially said he did not remember making the statement, but added, "I could have said that. Nobody asked me- I wasn't a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question.
"By the time the war started, I was against it," Trump added. "And shortly thereafter, I was really against it."
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday, Trump restated his opposition to the war, saying "We attacked Iraq, but Iraq didn’t knock down the World Trade Center." Trump also said that he would declassify the entire 9/11 Commission Report, telling Hannity "When that’s open, I think you’ll find out that Saudi Arabia had a lot to do with the ripping down of the World Trade Center."

The Iraq War issue first flared up in Saturday's Republican debate, when Trump clashed with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush over Middle East policy.
Trump repeatedly slammed former President George W. Bush, Jeb's brother, saying his administration "lied" about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. At Thursday's town hall, Trump refused to say whether he stood by that charge.

Trump also invoked the 9/11 attacks in response to Jeb Bush's claim that his brother kept the U.S. safe, saying "The World Trade Center came down … That’s not keeping us safe."
During the town hall, Trump also eased off comments he had made earlier in the day about Pope Francis. Returning to Rome from a five-day trip to Mexico, Francis had said that Trump's pledge to build a wall along the entire length of the border and expel millions of illegal immigrants was "not Christian".
Trump, a Presbyterian, initially responded by saying, "For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian, and as president I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened."
However, on Thursday night, Trump said "I don't like fighting with the Pope, actually. I don't think this is a fight. I think he said something much softer than was originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government."

Mourners to pay respects to late Justice Scalia at Supreme Court

Why is the WH not explaining Obama skipping Scalia funeral?

Thousands of mourners, from President Barack Obama to ordinary tourists, will pay their final respects to late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Friday as his casket lies in repose in the high court's Great Hall.
Court officials said Scalia's casket would be carried into the hall at approximately 9:30 a.m. local time for a private ceremony including family, friends and justices. The public will be admitted between 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The justice's former law clerks will take turns standing vigil by their former boss throughout the day and night in a tradition most recently observed after the 2005 death of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
The casket will rest on the Lincoln Catafalque, the platform on which President Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested in the Capitol rotunda in 1865. A 2007 portrait of Scalia by artist Nelson Shanks will be displayed nearby.

Obama and his wife Michelle planned to pay their respects at the court on Friday, while Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden were to attend Scalia's funeral Mass on Saturday.
The funeral Mass open to family and friends will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Burial plans have not been released.

In a departure from tradition, the court's current and former justices won't be lining the marble steps outside the court as the casket is carried through the main entrance. They will instead be waiting inside. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg did not explain the reason for the change.

Scalia's sudden death complicated an already tumultuous election year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a replacement should not be named until the next president takes office. Obama pledged to pick a replacement "in due time" and challenged Republicans to hold a vote on his nominee.

Scalia was found dead on Saturday in his room at a remote Texas hunting resort. The 79-year-old jurist was appointed to the court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

He is survived by his wife, Maureen, nine children and 36 grandchildren.