In his annual papal address, Pope Francis blamed ‘fake news’ for the assassination attempt on Trump
Pope Francis recently said that “fake news” was the root cause of the assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump last year.
Catholic News Agency reported on the pope’s annual “state of the world” speech he delivered on Thursday to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. In it, Francis pointed to “fake news” as the root of division and mistrust in society that culminated in Trump being nearly assassinated on two separate occasions in 2024.
“This phenomenon creates false images of reality, a climate of suspicion that incites hatred, undermines people’s sense of security and threatens the civil coexistence and stability of entire nations. Tragic examples of this are the attacks on the president of the Slovak government and the president-elect of the United States of America,” he said.
SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER ROBERT FICO SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES IN ‘DANGER TO LIFE’
Pope Francis recently called it “fake news” that led to the assassination attempts on President-elect Donald Trump and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. (Vatican/Pool/Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images)
Trump narrowly escaped death at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July, when would-be assassin Thomas Crooks shot him with an AR-15 rifle. Crooks’ bullet missed Trump’s skull by less than a centimeter, although it hit him in the ear. Other rounds entered the crowd behind the then-GOP candidate, wounding two and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore.
Trump avoided a second assassination attempt just two months later in Florida, while the US Secret Service scared off the suspect Ryan Routh before he was able to shoot Trump, who was playing golf on his Palm Beach County course. Authorities caught up and arrested the would-be killer after he abandoned his AK-47 and fled in a vehicle.
As the Pope reminded his audience, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was critically wounded when he was shot by a would-be assassin in May while welcoming some of his supporters to his country. Local authorities arrested the suspect.
Trump assassination suspect Ryan Routh has been arrested for allegedly attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number in Palm Beach County, Florida September 15, 2024 (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
During his address, Franjo said that these are assassination attempts they are the result of further polarization of societies by misinformation and media bias.
“We see increasingly polarized societies marked by a general sense of fear and distrust of others and of the future, exacerbated by the continued creation and spread of ‘fake news,'” Francis said, using a term popularized by Trump early in his political career.
The Pope added that fake news “not only distorts facts but also perceptions.”
After his assassination attempt, Trump blamed false rhetoric pushed by the left as what inspired the shooting against him.
Speaking of another potential killer, Trump told Fox News Digital last September, “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it. Their rhetoric is the reason they are shooting at me, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones who are destroying the country — both inside and out. “
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Security guards transport Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after he was injured in a shooting Wednesday, May 15 in Handlova, Slovakia. (Reuters/Radovan Stoklasa)
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In his speech Franjo – who declared 2025 to be a special year “Jubilee” year with a central theme of hope – they called on humanity to repair the divisions in society that led to these attempted murders.
“My prayerful hope for this new year is that the jubilee can represent for everyone, Christians and non-Christians, an opportunity also to rethink the relationships that bind us to each other, as human beings and political communities,” he expressed.
