Pope Francis says between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris voters must choose ‘lesser of two evils’
WASHINGTON, DC: Pope Francis said on Friday, September 13, that American Catholics should pick a presidential candidate representing a “lesser evil.”
The Pope expressed that both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump have policies that are "against life."
Pope Francis on who is 'lesser evil' among Donald Trump and Kamala Harris
Pope Francis described the choice between Donald Trump's anti-migrant policies and Kamala Harris' support for abortion rights as a decision between the "lesser of two evils."
Pope Francis made these assertions during a press conference on the papal plane.
“One should vote, and choose the lesser evil,” he said, per the Associated Press. “Who is the lesser evil, that lady or that gentleman? I don’t know," Pope Francis added, referring to Harris and Trump.
“Everyone with a conscience should think about this and do it,” he cautioned.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on abortion rights and migration during presidential debate
Abortion and immigration policies were key topics in Tuesday's presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The Democratic frontrunner criticized the GOP presidential candidate's stance on abortion, stating she would sign a bill to codify Roe v Wade if Congress passed it.
“Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because their health care providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot — she didn’t want that. Her husband didn’t want that,” Harris said, reported The Hill.
Trump also referenced a false claim regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, consuming pets during the debate.
“What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country — and look at what’s happening to the towns [in the] United States, a lot of towns don’t want to talk," he said.
"Not going to be Aurora [or] Springfield. A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs," he added.
Pope Francis' outspokenness in political matters surpasses predecessors
Pope Francis has been more outspoken on political matters than his predecessors, working towards a more inclusive Catholic Church, noted CNN.
Although he has firmly upheld the Church's stance that abortion is a deliberate termination of human life, Pope Francis has emphasized that this issue should not be considered in isolation from other human life concerns, such as immigration.
“To send migrants away, to leave them wherever you want, to leave them … it’s something terrible, there is evil there," the Pope said. "To send away a child from the womb of the mother is an assassination, because there is life. We must speak about these things clearly.”
