Pope Francis is giving U.S. President Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt, saying that it is still too early to pass judgment on him.
At the same time, however, without mentioning Trump but clearly alluding to him, the head of the Roman Catholic Church warned that populist leaders could end up like Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Pope Francis made the statements in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Friday, the day Trump was inaugurated as the 45<sup>th president of the United States.
The pope expressed concern that the apparent rise of populist figures in the United States and Europe could lead to a crisis similar to what happened in Germany in 1933 when Hitler began his rise to power.
"In my opinion, the most obvious example of European populism is Germany in 1933 ... A people that was immersed in a crisis, that looked for its identity until this charismatic leader came and promised to give their identity back, and he gave them a distorted identity, and we all know what happened," he said.
"Hitler didn't steal the power, his people voted for him, and then he destroyed his people," the pope added.
Pope Francis made it clear though that nothing is certain yet.
"I think that we must wait and see. I don't like to get ahead of myself nor judge people prematurely," he said.
Last year, Pope Francis and Trump figured in an exchange of barbs.
Responding to a reporter's question about Trump's immigration policy, the pope said, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel."
Trump quickly struck back, calling the pope's comment "disgraceful," saying the Pope Francis appears to be unaware of crime linked with illegal immigration.
"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS ... I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president because this would not have happened," the then Republican presidential candidate told Fox News.
