Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei was left absolutely flabbergasted that Donald Trump harshly attacked the Pope on Sunday — and then doubled down hours later by posting a picture of himself as Jesus Christ on Truth Social.
With the president leaving the Trump-as-Jesus meme up on Truth Social, the longtime political journalist claimed on MSNOW's "Morning Joe" that the damage was already done with the president's religious base — and even some MAGA fans who aren't religious.
According to VandeHei, Trump’s approval numbers are now set to collapse even further because the president has given some of his supporters fresh reason to abandon him.
“Whether it's a joke or not, most people who are faithful don't take their faith as a joke,” he warned. “None of this stuff happens overnight. It tends to trickle, trickle, trickle. But I think he is playing with fire with the base. And if you look at where he is standing, I think he should be worried.”
“I'm surprised his advisors didn't say, ‘Come on, man.’ Like, it's at some point you're pushing this too far. Your favorable ratings are already relatively low,” he said.
“Morning Joe’”co-host Jonathan Lemire called the two posts “madness” and remarked, “I think Trump's not used to, he's not used to sharing the stage with anyone. And Pope Leo has been a very quiet figure in his first month in the Vatican. That has now changed.”
“Watch the numbers,” Vandehei predicted. “The trajectory is not great for Donald Trump. He's losing young Americans. He's losing Hispanics. He's losing all of the MAGA podcasters with the biggest audiences. Yes, he still has his mesmerizing hold over the base. But little by little, he's starting to lose that coalition, that new coalition that brought Republicans into power. It's the reason they think they're going to lose the House, and they now think there's a 50/50 chance they lose the Senate.”
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