Donald Trump on Whether Pope Dust-up Will Hurt: 'You Never Know'

Donald Trump talked with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "GMA" today.

ByABC News
February 19, 2016, 7:48 AM

— -- Donald Trump says he is unsure whether his recent battle with Pope Francis just days before the South Carolina primary would hurt his support.

"Well, you never know, George," he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" today.

"We have to have the wall and we have to stop the drugs from coming in," he continued, focusing on his positions on illegal immigration. "We have to have a border or we just don't have a country."

Pope Francis, when asked about Trump Thursday, said people who support building walls over bridges are "not Christian." Trump then fired back, saying the Holy Father will have wished Trump were president if the Vatican is attacked by ISIS.

During the interview, Trump also defended his saying that he opposed the Iraq war before it began, even though Buzzfeed News uncovered a radio interview from 2002 when Trump said he was in favor of the Iraq war.

"There is evidence and I’ll find evidence because I was against the war," Trump said, despite their being no evidence revealed yet showing his disapproval of the war before it started.

"You can see I was not exactly strongly in favor," Trump said of the 2002 radio clip, adding that it was the first time he had been asked about it. "That was long before the war began."

Trump went on to say he would explain U.S. interests in securing the border if he had the opportunity to meet with the pope. "I think I’d explain the problem of illegal immigration," he said. "I'd explain our side of the picture."