Anchoring from the Vatican for her Friday show ahead of Pope Francis’s Saturday funeral, MSNBC’s Chris Jansing was not just content to portray Francis as a pope of the people; she had to mix in former President Joe Biden as well by praising his “empathy” and love of Amtrak. The fact that Francis would rebuke Biden for his abortion beliefs, to her, just made their relationship even better.
During her report, Jansing declared, “To understand Biden, those closest to him say you must understand his lifelong connection to his Roman Catholic faith, but also what is perhaps his unlikely connection with Pope Francis.”
MSNBC contributor and National Catholic Reporter Vatican correspondent Christopher White also tried to analogize the two by getting in a subtle dig at President Donald Trump, “These are men that came into office, in a sense, with similar mandates to clean up their own houses. And I think because of that, in a sense, they found one another. They found ways to communicate despite their differences, where they had a sense of mutual respect.”
Jansing added, “The world's two most prominent and powerful Catholics with much in common, both known for their empathy, both finding their power later in life. Francis at 76. Biden at 78.”
Biden may have had two failed presidential campaigns prior to 2020 and spent more years in politics than most people have spent alive, but that didn’t stop Jansing from claiming, “And both also content without the perks of power. Francis riding the bus as bishop, Biden with his affinity for Amtrak.”
Jansing then got to the elephant in the room:
But it's abortion and the Dobbs decision that illuminates how their personal closeness seemed to defy their differences. Biden's position, of course, is consistent with his party, but not his church. And here in Rome, the Pope suggested that Biden should think more carefully about what it means to be a Catholic. Biden’s often reminded of that split when he attends weekly mass with anti-abortion protesters outside his church in Delaware. And yet, on Francis's 2015 visit to the U.S, Biden stayed close, greeting him at the airport alongside President Obama. Front row for his address to Congress. And there for the farewell in Philly. Building a bridge with the Vatican that continued into Biden's presidency.
If only Biden had listened to Francis’s suggestion. Taking the train to work hardly outweighs failing to protect innocent babies.
Here is a transcript for the April 25 show:
MSNBC Chris Jansing Reports
4/25/2025
2:19 PM ET
CHRIS JANSING: To understand Biden, those closest to him say you must understand his lifelong connection to his Roman Catholic faith, but also what is perhaps his unlikely connection with Pope Francis.
JOE BIDEN: You are the most significant warrior for peace I've ever met.
CHRISTOPHER WHITE: These are men that came into office, in a sense, with similar mandates to clean up their own houses. And I think because of that, in a sense, they found one another. They found ways to communicate despite their differences, where they had a sense of mutual respect.
JANSING: The world's two most prominent and powerful Catholics with much in common, both known for their empathy, both finding their power later in life. Francis at 76. Biden at 78.
BIDEN: So, help me god.
JANSING: And both also content without the perks of power. Francis riding the bus as bishop, Biden with his affinity for Amtrak. But it's abortion and the Dobbs decision that illuminates how their personal closeness seemed to defy their differences.
Biden's position, of course, is consistent with his party, but not his church. And here in Rome, the Pope suggested that Biden should think more carefully about what it means to be a Catholic.
Biden’s often reminded of that split when he attends weekly mass with anti-abortion protesters outside his church in Delaware. And yet, on Francis's 2015 visit to the U.S, Biden stayed close, greeting him at the airport alongside President Obama. Front row for his address to Congress. And there for the farewell in Philly. Building a bridge with the Vatican that continued into Biden's presidency.
