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Donald Trump has surpassed his nemesis, Pope Francis, as ruler of the Twittersphere among world leaders, according to Burson-Marsteller's latest tally of Twitter followers of the high and mighty.
The President chalked up 39.7M followers to overtake the sum of people following the Pope in nine different language accounts.
The victory must be especially sweet for the President, considering his testy relationship with the Pontiff, who questioned candidate Trump's sense of Christianity for his proposal to build a wall across the southern border.
"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian," tweeted the Pope.
Not one to overlook even the slightest of slaps, Trump retorted, "No religious leader has right to question another man's faith," and the Pope will have "wished and prayed I was president if ISIS attacks Vatican."
Things didn't get much better when newly elected President Trump visited the Vatican. Francis' hang dog facial expression during the group portrait with the Trump family was the key takeaway of the somber occasion. The Pope did manage to survive a 29-minute private meeting with Trump, though it was half the time that he gave to President Obama.
The Donald now has blasted Francis from the top of Twitter, but the Pope may soon enjoy a measure of revenge.
Francis plans to write a document on how "fake news contributes to generating and nurturing a strong polarization of opinions," the Vatican announced Sept. 29. The document will be timely stuff for Team Trump, which may or may not have colluded with Russia's meddling in the US election via fake news.
Francis understands how distortions of facts can have "repercussions at the level of individual and collective behavior." He will offer "a reflection on the causes, the logic and the consequences of disinformation in the media, and helping to promote professional journalism, which always seeks the truth,” according to the Vatican.
No document on fake news would be complete without a look at how Trump uses lies, exaggerations, distorted facts and disinformation to discredit political opponents and feed his base. You can bet that Francis will devote many pages of his report to Donald. He may even dedicate the document to the King of Twitter.
Fake news will be front and center during during the Catholic Church's World Social Communication Day on May 13, 2018. Francis will release his work on Jan. 24, feast day of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of reporters. Nice touch, Francis.
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