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Donald Trump: What He Said About the Pope

Donald Trump speaks onstage during the 'The Celebrity Apprentice' panel discussion at the NBC/Universal portion of the 2015 Winter TCA Tour at the Langham Hotel on Jan. 16, 2015 in Pasadena, Calif. and Pope Francis arrives in St Peter's square at the Vatican on Sept. 9, 2015, for his weekly general audience in Rome.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images | Filippo Monteforte/Getty Images
ByRYAN STRUYK
September 23, 2015, 4:38 PM

— -- All eyes are on the pope in the United States today.

While the Holy Father is meeting with President Obama at the White House, presidential hopefuls for the job are sharing their thoughts on the pontiff and his positions on climate change, immigration and social issues.

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But one 2016 candidate has been tweeting about the pope since day one: Donald Trump. He sent this congratulatory tweet:

Just a few days later, Trump, who is a Presbyterian, was on the attack. He criticized the new pope for paying his own hotel bill.

When Trump got pushback -- what's new! -- on his criticism, he explained why:

And, by the way, just in case the pope ever has own reality TV ambitions, Trump tweeted that he'd be his “first pick.”

Overall, the real estate mogul says he’s a fan. Why?

He also did not approve of Pope Benedict’s decision to give up the Papacy, the first pontiff to do so since 1415.

And he criticized Obama over his handling of the Affordable Care Act.

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