For centuries, kings, emperors and politicians around the world sought the Pope’s favor. The Vatican has shaped history—blessing conquests, crowning Holy Roman Emperors, amassing riches and waging wars against those who sought to curtail the once-dominant power of the Holy See. Only recently has the pope’s role been largely limited to religious leadership. For Donald Trump, who apparently sees himself not just as an American king but as the messianic leader of a religious movement, the papacy embodies that, what it also meant to many historical autocrats: a perceived threat to his power.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in the church’s 2,000-year history, has become one of the most prominent critics of Trump’s domestic and foreign policy course. Mostly without mentioning Trump or members of his administration by name, Leo has used the gospel and church teaching to condemn the mistreatment of migrants and emphasize the sanctity of war. Tired of papal subtweeting, the president nailed his proverbial 95 theses to the door of his church on Sunday evening: Truth Social.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on crime and a disaster for foreign policy,” Trump wrote as part of a long outburst of anger against the head of the Catholic Church.
Worldwide outrage
Not surprisingly, Catholics and political leaders around the world were shocked.
“I am stunned that the President chose such derogatory words about the Holy Father. Pope Leo is not his rival, nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and advocates for the salvation of people,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement.
Bishop Robert Barron, a member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, wrote on social media that the president’s attacks on the pope were “inappropriate and disrespectful.”
“It is the pope’s prerogative to formulate Catholic teaching and principles of moral life,” he added. “I would strongly recommend that serious Catholics in the Trump administration – Secretary Rubio, Vice President Vance, Ambassador Brian Burch and others – meet with Vatican officials so that real dialogue can take place.”
Criticism from all over the world
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on
Even prominent Republicans and MAGA influencers took issue with Trump’s blasphemy – which included a post depicting him as a Christ-like figure healing a man in radiant light.
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon, who is sponsored by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, wrote on X on Sunday that he “sincerely believes” that “Trump is currently possessed by a demon.”
MAGA against Trump
“Is Donald Trump the Antichrist?” asked Webbon in a video he posted on social media on Monday.
MAGA influencer Brilyn Hollyhand, meanwhile, called Trump’s religious posting spree “blatant blasphemy” and wrote, “Faith is not a prop. You don’t have to pose as a savior if your record should speak for itself.”
Conservative commentator Riley Gaines seemed particularly perplexed. “Why? Seriously, I don’t understand why he’s posting this. Is he looking for a reaction? Does he really believe that?” she wrote, adding, “God is not mocked.”
Silence in Congress
Republicans in Congress have remained largely silent on Trump’s posts, although Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told the Philadelphia Inquirer that it was “disgraceful, unworthy of the dignity of the presidency and offensive to Catholics in every corner of the world.”
“To suggest that a pope somehow owes his place to a politician is absurd. As a faithful Catholic since childhood, I find these comments an insult to the church, an affront to the faithful and, for many Catholics, simply sacrilege,” Fitzpatrick added. “Demeaning the Holy Father and exalting yourself is not strength. That is arrogance.”
Prominent Catholics in the Trump administration — including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have not yet commented on the matter.
Trump’s justifications
At a press briefing at the White House on Monday, Trump claimed that he understood the image depicting him as Jesus to show him “as a doctor” who heals the sick. “I posted it and thought it portrayed me as a doctor. And it had to do with the Red Cross – as a Red Cross worker that we support – and only the fake news could come up with something like that,” Trump said.
The president also reiterated his attacks on the pope, telling reporters: “Pope Leo said things that were wrong. He was very against what I’m doing regarding Iran. He’s weak on crime. And he’s gone public. I’m just reacting to Pope Leo. There’s nothing for me to apologize for.”
For his part, Pope Leo is not deterred by the president’s displeasure. “I’m not afraid – neither of the Trump administration nor of speaking the gospel message out loud. And that’s what I’m called to do here,” Leo told reporters en route to a 10-day trip to Algeria. “That’s what I’m called to do and what the church is called to do. We’re not politicians. We don’t want to pursue foreign policy – as he calls it – with the same perspective that he might understand it from.”
“But I believe that the message of the gospel – ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ – is a message the world needs to hear today,” he added.
