Rob Astorino, WOR and NewsMax host Interview

Rob Astorino joins Mendte in the Morning live from the Vatican to talk about the selection of the new pope and what it was like to be there as the new pope was introduced.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But let's talk about the big story of the day
with the man who was there. Rob Astino, host of
The rob Astorino Show on w r Saturdays four to five,
host of Saturday Agenda one to three on Newsmax, and
former Westchester County executive. So where were you for the
black smoke and explain the experience?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, what you mean for the white smile?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
I was there for the black smoke, but dembily the
white smoke yesterday.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
I was three times for the black smoke, right, were
you there each time?

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Okay, yes, so I saw the black smoke and then honestly,
nobody expected white smoke yesterday.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
That just was not in the carts at least.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
The conventional thinking, which is always like throw it all
out anyway, because nobody has really any clue because they're
so secluded what's going on in that Sistine Chapel with
those one and thirty three cardinals. So everyone was speculating,
but the conventional.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Wisdom going it was no way this is going to
go at least a Friday, baby Saturday, and it was
talk of Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
But you know what, they worked it out. They figured
it out, and so when that smoke went, I was there,
and as the afternoon started getting later, just thousands and
thousands of people were making their way in anticipation. And
then it was just.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Like aroar, like a roar when.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
People saw the white smoke, just excitement and it was
just great. And then of course we had to wait
until Cardinal MOMBERTI came out to make the announcement.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
And when he said, you know, Robert Franz's, Cardinal rebos.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Like what.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Again, Holy mackerel. So it was an exciting day.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
You know what, it proves. It proves the experts are
wrong every single time about everything, about how long it's
going to take, about who it's going to be. You guess,
at this kind of thing, you can't bet on this
kind of things. You're telling Natalie, I'm always going to
take the field every time we have, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
And you know what, whenever there's the propability, you know,
the front runners, they never make it. And there's a
reason for that. They I think both sides almost want
their their trojan horses, and and it's always going to
be somebody else. And you know, we were going through
the list of the ten Americans and I I said

(02:30):
from the beginning, it's never going to be a cardinal archbishop.
So it wouldn't as much as I wanted. It wouldn't
be a Dolan or Toven, you know, somebody running a diacese.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
It would be somebody like Prevost. He would really be
the candidate.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
But I never expected that he would be picked as
the American first pope.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
But if you look at his credentials, if you look
at his.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Resume, he checks a lot of boxes. You know, he
was in a diocese, he grew up in Chicago. He
did mission work as they do in the Augustinians. He
was worldwide, visited fifty countries. He spent time in the
Vatican in a very high position, so he knows how
it runs and how it works, and he knows.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
All the players.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
So he really did fit just about every box.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
And he's just so likable, and I think that's a
big deal, the fact that all the cardinals seem to
like them.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, and you know, he was in charge of the
dicastriph for the bishops, so basically he was the one
vetting all of the potential bishops worldwide, or I should
say candidates for bishop worldwide. So he would basically put
the dottee together do the vetting and present some candidates
for the pope to make a pick in every diocese.

(03:43):
So just imagine everybody he knows. So he's walking in there,
you know, already knowing who he probably wants to elevate
his cardinal as he goes forward. But the one thing
I was disappointed in yesterday Larry and is in his
I thought, really good first public announcements, if you will,

(04:04):
the prayer and everything. But it was an Italian. It
was in Spanish, it was in Latin, but I did
not hear a word of English, and I thought, I
thought that would be good. I didn't want to hear you.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
But I think he could have said something in English
that would have just said to the world, you know, yes,
I'm an American. He speaks I think eight languages. But
other than that.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
I spoke to two conservative cardinals and they said to me,
he's going to be okay. And I think because conservatives
were like, oh no, we got Obama too, we got
Francis the sequel. No, I don't think it's going to
be that he is leftist and he's missionary work. But
I think he's going to bring it back to the

(04:45):
more central focus of what the Church is.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
I believe that too, And I think it was significant
that he picked Leo the fourteenth because yeah, yeah, you
know why I'm saying that, because Leo is exactly the
way that you said the last Leo. The Leo the
thirteenth was exactly what you were talking about.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah, And I remember reading Reream Navaram at one point,
and that in cyclical talked about the workers. It talked
about and this is where the left and the right
kind of tears it apart and picks at their view.
It denounced capitalism in some respects, but it also denounced socialism.
It was more about the human dignity and the worker
and those kind of things helping the poor. So there's

(05:26):
a little bit of everything in there. But I mean,
he's a traditionalist and I don't think he's going to
go off and create chaos like Francis did.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
And you saw he was a traditionalist right when he
came out, just because he was in the traditional garments
he put back on. I think that was a statement.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
I think exactly great point. And I think he's going
to live in the Vatican.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Where Francis didn't, and it'll be interesting if he makes
a visit to the United States. Maybe, wouldn't it be
great next year for the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
of America if he showed up there.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think that would be great.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, it'd be wonderful, and I'm sure he knows that,
and I'm sure he's thinking the same thing. So we'll
wait for the announcement and we'll give you credit for
calling it out before anybody else did. That's wonderful, rob Astorno,
Thank you so much. Rob Astorino, host of The Rob
Astorino Show on WOR Saturday is from four to five,
Host of Saturday Agenda on newsmax's former Westchester County executive. Hey, Rob, yeah,

(06:25):
I actually we have just a little bit more time.
Donald Trump said yesterday that he was invited to the
Vatican and he's going. Have you heard anything about that.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
I haven't heard that he's invited for the installation Mass.
Maybe what he's talking about, because we're all wondering when
that might be. The new Popad his first Mass this
morning with all the cardinals, but his installation Mass could
be a week from now or sooner. So that would
be great if Trump. If Trump came.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
No, Trump was I thought Trump was perfect. I thought
Trump said how great it was to have an American.
It was quite honor. He said he was invited already.
He said he's going to go. So I even though
there are people, as you pointed out on social media
that are upset and saying he's anti MAGA and he's
anti America, I think you're absolutely right. Somebody changes when

(07:17):
they become pope, and I'm not sure I think that's
the way go ahead.

Speaker 3 (07:21):
You know. I don't know if you saw this, but he
was a registered Republican, he voted in Chicago in the
presidential elections going back twenty years, and he's a dual
citizenship America and Peru. So he's a little bit of everything.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
Thank you very much. Rob Estorino, host of The Rob
Estorino Show on WR four to five. Thanks Rob,