President Donald Trump Meets With Pope Francis At Vatican

>>> THIS IS AN NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT.
>>> GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. WE'RE COMING ON THE AIR AT THIS
EARLY HOUR ON THE EAST COAST, JUST PAST 8:00 WEDNESDAY MORNING
AT THE VATICAN WHERE PRESIDENT TRUMP IS JUST ARRIVING FOR AN
HISTORIC MEETING WITH POPE FRANCIS.
IT IS THE FIRST EVER BETWEEN THE OUTSPOKEN LEADERS.
THIS IS THE THIRD STOP OF THE PRESIDENT'S FIRST FOREIGN TOUR
AFTER VISITS TO SAUDI ARABIA AND TO ISRAEL.
NBC'S CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT HALLIE JACKSON IS
TRAVELING WITH THE PRESIDENT. SHE JOINS US FROM THE VATICAN.
DAN THOMPSON JOINS US FROM NEW YORK.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU BOTH.
HALLIE, IS TEAMS LIKE WITH THESE STOPS THE PRESIDENT IS TRYING TO
PULL TOGETHER THE THREE CORNERS OF THE GLOBE, THE MUSLIMS, THE
CHRISTIANS AND THE JEWISH FAITH. >> THAT'S RIGHT.
WE ARE WATCHING THEM HERE IN THE COURTYARD GETTING READ I DO MEET
THE POPE THIS WILL BE A FASCINATING LOOK AT HOW THE
PRESIDENT INTERACTS WITH SOMEBODY WITH WHOM HE HAS A LOT
OF DIFFERENCES. SOME SIMILARITIES, TOO YOU LOOK
AT IT AS WE WATCH THE PRESIDENT GREET THE ASSEMBLED MEMBERS OF
THE GENTLEMAN'S CLUB BEFORE HE HEADS INSIDE.
THESE ARE TWO PEOPLE WHO DISAGREED ON IMMIGRATION.
DURING THE CAMPAIGN, THE PRESIDENT SAID THAT THE -- THE
POPE RATHER SAID THAT PEOPLE WHO BUILD WALLS AND NOT BRIDGES ARE
NOT CHRISTIANS. SOMETHING THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP
THEN AS A CANDIDATE SAID WAS DISGRACEFUL.
YOU LOOK AT THEIR DIFFERENCES ON CLIMATE CHANGE.
SOMETHING THAT THE POPE MAY BRING UP IN A PRIVATE AUDIENCE
WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE G-7 SUMMIT IS COMING UP IN A
COUPLE DAYS. PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS TO DECIDE
WHETHER TO STAY IN THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT.
HE'LL MAKE THAT DECISION AFTER HE GETS BACK TO WASHINGTON FROM
THIS TRIP. WATCH FOR POPE FRANCIS TO LOOK
FOR AREAS OF COMMON AGREEMENT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE POPE
TALKED ABOUT PUBLICLY. HE WANTS THIS TO BE A DIPLOMATIC
SUCCESS, IF YOU WILL. FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP IT WILL BE A
VERY NOTABLE MOMENT FOR HIM. THIS IS THEIR FIRST FACE-TO-FACE
MEETING. THEY'RE TWO VERY DIFFERENT
PEOPLE. YOU HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO LIVES
IN TRUMP TOWER, GILDED, OPULENT. THE POPE VERY DIFFERENT.
>> ANNE THOMPSON, WE LEFT THE BEAUTIFUL COURTYARD THERE AND
HAVE GONE INTO THE AREA THAT WILL LEAD INTO THE PAPAL
LIBRARY, WHERE THESE MEN WILL ULTIMATELY MEET, THIS GORGEOUS
AREA. THEY'RE GETTING TO THE LODGE OF
RAFAEL. TALK ABOUT THE MAJESTY, THE AREA
THROUGH WHICH DONALD TRUMP WILL BE TRAVELING WILL MELANIA.
>> HE IS GOING TO SEE THE VERY INNER WORKINGS OF THE VATICAN.
SORT OF BE WALKED THROUGH THESE HALLS THAT -- WHERE THE GRANDEUR
OF THE VATICAN IS ON DISPLAY. YOU SAW HIM WITH THE PREFECT OF
THE PAPAL HOUSEHOLD. HE IS ALSO THE PERSONAL
SECRETARY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI, SO HE MIGHT LOOK FAMILIAR TO
SOME OF WHO ARE LONG-TIME VATICAN WATCHERS.
THEN THEY WERE ACCOMPANIED INSIDE BY THE PAPAL GENTLEMEN.
THOSE ARE THE MEN IN THE FORMAL DRESS.
VATICAN AND SWISS GUARDS WILL MEET THEM, THEN THEY WILL WALK
THROUGH THE SERIES OF ROOMS, WHICH IS REALLY A WALK DESIGNED
TO GIVE THE HEAD OF STATE THE SENSE OF POWER AND MAJESTY AND
PURPOSE OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE.
THEY WILL GO TO A ROOM CALLED CLEMENTINE HALL, THAT IS USUALLY
WHERE WHEN THE POPE HAS A PRIVATE GROUP AUDIENCE, THAT'S
WHERE THAT IS HELD. AND THEY EVENTUALLY WILL END UP
IN WHAT'S CALLED THE ROOM OF THE LITTLE THRONES.
THAT IS WHERE PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL BE GREETED BY POPE FRANCIS
WHO WILL COME OUT AND THEN INVITE HIM INTO THE PAPAL
LIBRARY WHERE THEY WILL SIT AT A LONG TABLE, BASICALLY A DESK,
AND HAVE THEIR PRIVATE MEETING. ALEX?
>> WHEN YOU SAY PRIVATE THAT WILL EXCLUDE THE FIRST LADY, WHO
JOINED HER HUSBAND WEARING THE TRADITIONAL MANTEA THERE.
OTHERS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ENTOURAGE THERE.
I BELIEVE I SAW IVANKA AND HER HUSBAND JARED AS WELL.
HOPE HICKS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR THERE.
A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WILL BE JOINING THEM.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SPEED OF THIS PARTICULAR TRIP.
IT WILL BE HAPPENING AT A QUICKER PACE THAN USUAL, BECAUSE
THE POPE HAS AN AGENDA EVERY SINGLE WEDNESDAY THOUSANDS
GATHER THERE IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HEAR
HIM FOR THE WEEKLY AUDIENCE. >> HE DOES.
HE HAS A GENERAL AUDIENCE AT 10:00 IN THE MORNING ROME TIME.
IN FACT, THAT IS WHY USUALLY HEADS OF STATE COME INTO THE
VATICAN AND THEY COME THROUGH ST. PETER'S SQUARE.
PRESIDENT TRUMP DID NOT DO THAT. HE WENT THROUGH THE GATE TODAY,
A SIDE ENTRANCE TO THE VATICAN. SAINT PETERS SQUARE IS ALREADY
SET UP FOR THAT GENERAL AUDIENCE.
THE POPE LIKES TO GET IN HIS POPEMOBILE 9:30 ROME TIME AND
TOOL AROUND AND GREET THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
IN FACT, PEOPLE ARE ALREADY IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE THIS MORNING
WAITING TO SEE THE POPE. YOU KNOW THAT CONNECTION WITH
HIS FLOCK IS SO IMPORTANT TO HIM.
IT'S ACTUALLY ALMOST OXYGEN FOR HIM.
HERE WE SEE THE FIRST LADY AND THE PRESIDENT AND THE ARCHBISHOP
GOING INTO THE ELEVATOR. >> THEY'LL PASS THROUGH AN AREA
THAT HAS MAGNIFICENT WORKS OF ART AND HISTORY THERE.
IT REALLY DOES SAY WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME.
THERE ARE WORKS OF ART FROM THE 1500s ADORNING THOSE WALLS.
ALL OF THAT HAS GOT TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION ON THIS PRESIDENT.
>> I THINK IT'S -- AS YOU SAID, IT'S TO CONVEY THE MAJESTY, THE
HISTORY, THE GRANDEUR OF THE VATICAN BUT ALSO THE SERIOUSNESS
OF THIS MEETING. THIS IS NOT MEETING A CELEBRITY.
THIS IS MEETING A MAN WHO IS A LEADER OF 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE.
1.2 BILLION CATHOLICS AROUND THE WORLD WHO IS QUITE ARGUABLY THE
MOST POPULAR MAN IN THE WORLD. POPE FRANCIS HAS REALLY CHANGED
THE NARRATIVE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN JUST FOUR YEARS AS THE
LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. HE HAS PUT MERCY AND COMPASSION
AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
AND YOU REMEMBER, IT WAS JUST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO WHEN HE CAME
AND VISITED THE UNITED STATES, AND BROUGHT HIS MESSAGE OF A
CULTURE OF CARING, OF CARING FOR THE POOR, OF CARING FOR THE
EXCLUDED, OF CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
HOW FOR THOSE FOUR DAYS HE TOOK THE COUNTRY BY STORM.
THIS IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT MAN. NOT JUST A RELIGIOUS LEADER, BUT
A GLOBAL LEADER. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL BE
WATCHING FOR, AS YOU REMEMBER THREE YEARS AGO WHEN HE MET WITH
PRESIDENT OBAMA, THEIR DISCUSSIONS THEN WERE ABOUT
NORMALIZING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CUBA THE QUESTION
TODAY IS WHAT DOES THE POPE WANT TO TALK TO PRESIDENT TRUMP
ABOUT? WHERE DOES HE SEE THAT OPEN DOOR
HE SPOKE ABOUT ON HIS LAST -- IN HIS LAST PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE
PLANE TRIP FROM FATIMA? WHERE DOES HE SEE COMMON GROUND
WITH THIS MAN? >> YES, THEY HAVE WALKED VERY
SLOWLY THROUGH THE CLEMENTINE THERE.
THERE'S LOTS TO LOOK AT. LOOK AT THE SWISS ARMY GUARD.
IT'S LARGELY CONSIDERED THOSE UNIFORMS, IF YOU WILL, WERE
DESIGNED BY MICHELANGELO. BUT THE REALITY THEY WERE
PROBABLY NOT. IS THERE ANY EXPECTATION OF WHAT
THE PRESIDENT HAS ON HIS AGENDA? WHAT HE WANTS TO SPEAK TO THE
POPE ABOUT? DO YOU THINK THEY'LL TOUCH ON
IMMIGRATION, WHICH AS YOU ELUDED TO EARLIER IS A DIFFICULT
SUBJECT BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM. >> IT HAS.
THERE MIGHT BE ONE AREA OF COMMONALTY WHEN IT COMES TO THE
TOPIC THAT YOU MAY SEE THEM TALK B THE PROTECTION OF, IN
PARTICULAR, CHRISTIAN REFUGEES ABROAD.
THAT IS SOMETHING YOU HEARD THE PRESIDENT TALK ABOUT.
OBVIOUSLY YOU HEARD THE POPE TALK ABOUT QUITE A BIT.
AS WE LOOK AT A SOLEMN AND SOMBER LOOKING DONALD TRUMP
TAKING IT ALL IN RIGHT NOW JUST BEHIND US AT THE VATICAN.
FOR ALL THEIR DIFFERENCES, THESE TWO MEN DO HAVE COMMONALTIES.
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THEIR STANCE ON CLEARLY ANTI-ABORTION ISSUES,
WHEN YOU LOOK AT EVEN
PERSONALITY-WISE. BOTH ARE UNORTHODOX, BOTH ARE
TRYING TO CHANGE HOW INSTITUTIONS ARE RUN.
THAT MAY BE AN AREA OF COMMONALTY AS WELL.
THIS IS A PRESIDENT, WHO AS WE SEE THERE, JUST NAMED HIS PICK
TO BE THE AMBASSADOR OF THE HOLY SEA, CALISSTA GINGRICH, WIFE OF
NEWT GINGRICH. SO I THINK THIS IS A MAJOR
MOMENT FOR THE PRESIDENT. YOU HEARD WHITE HOUSE AIDES, ONE
SENIOR OFFICIAL IN THE LAST 24 HOURS TALKING ABOUT HOW THE
PRESIDENT RESPECTS THE POPE, LOOKS FORWARD TO THIS MEETING
AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE PLANNING PROCESS BEGAN SEVERAL MONTHS
AGO. I WANT TO NOTE, TOO, WHO ELSE IS
WITH HIM. IT'S NOT JUST MELANIA
TILLERSON, GENERAL McMASTER, HOPE HICKS, GARY COHEN AND KEITH
SHILLER AS WELL.
>> AS THEY HEAD INTO THE ROOM OF THE LITTLE THRONE.
IN JUST A MOMENT THAT DOOR WILL BE SWUNG WIDE OPEN.
THE PRESIDENT WILL WALK THROUGH, AND RIGHT THERE IS WHERE HE WILL
MEET THE POPE. AND THEY WILL VERY SHORTLY BEGIN
THEIR PRIVATE DISCUSSION. YOU SAW A GENTLEMAN SIT DOWN.
THAT WILL BE THE TRANSLATOR. WE KNOW WHILE THE POPE DOES
SPEAK ENGLISH, HE'S FAR MORE COMFORTABLE SPEAKING IN ITALIAN
OR PORTUGUESE. SO THEY HAVE BROUGHT IN A
TRANSLATOR. HE DID SEEM TO GIVE HIS
GREETINGS AND THE HELLOS IN ENGLISH.
ANNE THOMPSON, THIS WILL NOT LAST AS LONG AS USUAL.
THE EXPECTATIONS, ABOUT 1520 MINUTES?
SO THE POPE CAN GET OUT TO THE WEEKLY AUDIENCE?
>> YES. SOMEWHERE, I THINK, NO MORE THAN
25, 30 MINUTES. WHEN PRESIDENT OBAMA MET WITH
POPE FRANCIS IN MARCH OF 2014, THAT MEETING LASTED 52 MINUTES,
BUT THIS TIME IT IS EXACTLY THE PRESSURE OF THAT GENERAL
AUDIENCE THAT IS GOING ON THERE. THE TWO MEN NOW THE POPE AND
PRESIDENT TRUMP ARE LEFT WITH THEIR INTERPRETERS, YOU SAW
MONSIGNOR MARK MYLES THERE, THE PRESIDENT SITTING NEXT TO THE
POPE WHO WILL BE THE INTERPRETER FOR HIM ITIT WAS A FAIRLY WARM
WELCOME. >> ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. FOR ALL OF YOU, WE'LL HAVE THE
LATEST LIVE FROM THE VATICAN THIS MORNING ON "TODAY."

President Donald Trump Meets With Pope Francis At Vatican | NBC News

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