The news that isn’t there: Catholics did not vote for Trump

Rome. American Catholics have turned their backs on Donald Trump, and whilst two years ago 59 per cent of them voted for the Republicans, this time only 49 per cent did so. The Democrats, who stood at 39 per cent in 2024, have risen to 50 per cent. But there is nothing extraordinary about this; it is simply a return to the norm. The surprising development dates back twenty-four months, when, for the first time in decades, the Catholic electorate backed a candidate from the Grand Old Party, prevailing amongst minorities who had always been loyal to the Democrats. In short, they have returned to the fold: 87 per cent of Black Catholics chose whoever opposed Trump, as did 65 per cent of Hispanics. The Republicans fared better among white Catholics, 56 per cent of whom voted for them. This result was also predictable: as early as October, the authoritative Pew Research Centre had documented how the incumbent president’s approval rating among the Catholic electorate had plummeted, falling from 47 per cent at the start of his term to 30 per cent today. Among white Catholics, it fell from 52 per cent to 39 per cent. A clear debacle. It has been reported in recent days that, in the end, American Catholics followed the Pope, who voted and who was targeted by Trump last April, with the latter describing him as “weak and terrible”. It is likely that, two years ago too, that section of the electorate had followed the Pope’s guidance. Francis, in a conversation with journalists on the plane whilst discussing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, said he did not know whom to choose: “Both are against life – both the one who throws migrants away and the one who kills children.” Perhaps, the voters must have thought, the one who “kills children” is worse.