Some Christians were shocked by Trump’s harsh language on social media and an artificial intelligence-generated image of him as Jesus. Professor John Kenneth White says the attack on the Pope could backfire on Trump. “It’s politically stupid. It makes no sense,” he says. “The Trump coalition is under pressure, and Catholics are not immune to it.” “The Pope is now the most important American on the world stage,” he adds. “Trump just can’t stand it.”
By Financial Times
“I am not afraid of the Trump administration,” the leader of the Catholic Church said this week, as he became a global reference point for critics of the US president.
In recent days, Pope Leo XIV, a little-known cardinal just a year ago, has traded harsh words with Donald Trump, the most powerful man in the world. The clash resembles more the rivalry between medieval popes and emperors than the Vatican-White House cooperation that helped win the Cold War. “We are not politicians, we do not do foreign policy from the same perspective as he does,” the 70-year-old from Chicago said of the 79-year-old from Queens, hours after Trump urged him to “stop pandering to the Radical Left and focus on being a Great Pope, not a politician.” Yet in trying to mobilize his countrymen to stop what he calls an “unjust war” on Iran, Pope Leo has become deeply involved in his country’s politics.
At a time when there is not a single opposition voice to Trump at home or abroad, the pope’s criticism of the administration’s policies could have electoral consequences in his homeland, while also endangering the president politically.
“Trump doesn’t understand that he’s up against a theological tradition that goes back more than 1500 years, a set of moral teachings about war and violence,” says Robert Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute. “It’s probably not the smartest idea to go to war with the pope.” The pope, born Robert Prevost, has taken the debate with Trump to a level that his predecessor, Pope Francis, could not because of language constraints. Unlike other leaders who might be more fearful of U.S. economic and military power, Pope Leo seems less susceptible to such pressures. “Trump is used to the servility of world leaders who are often too afraid to challenge him,” says Thomas Wright of the Brookings Institution. “He can’t use his usual tools to pressure the Vatican.”
The president’s criticism of the Pope has also angered some of Trump’s allies. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the attack on Leo “unacceptable.” Inside the U.S., the Pope’s popularity appears to be much higher than Trump’s. An NBC News poll gave the Pope a net positive rating of 34 points, while Trump had a negative 12.
Essentially, Vatican officials say Leo’s concern about Trump reflects a growing ideological divide between Washington and the Church over global order and the use of violence to resolve conflicts.
“Leo is not attacking a president,” says Father Antonio Spadaro. “This conflict is symptomatic of a much deeper clash between two incompatible ways of seeing the world.” The Holy See is alarmed by a more “theological” politics, where “God is used to bless the strong.” Leo has also joined critics who call the Trump administration’s approach to immigration cruel and unjust. “Someone who says he’s against abortion but accepts the inhumane treatment of immigrants, I don’t know if he’s really pro-life,” he said last year.
The clash escalated this week. Trump refused to apologize, saying, “He made it public. I’m just responding.” He later added that the pope was “wrong on the issue” and “shouldn’t get involved in politics.” Fears of a Catholic pope influencing American politics have existed since the founding of the United States by strict Protestants.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy refused to kneel and kiss the papal ring during a visit to the Vatican, a sign of how sensitive the issue was. Until now, that fear had been largely illusory, but perhaps not anymore. Last week, Leo made an unprecedented appeal for American citizens to contact their representatives in Congress to oppose attacks on Iran. “It means that the government is not pursuing the interests of the people,” says Massimo Faggioli. He adds that the pope “crossed the line” by clearly trying to influence American voters. Leo, heir to a progressive Catholic tradition focused on social justice, sees himself as a defender of the multilateral order created after World War II.
Meanwhile, Trump seems to envision a new world order in which major powers like the US, China and Russia have spheres of influence. American officials are increasingly using religious rhetoric to justify this approach. “We have a clear clash between different forms of Christianity,” says Faggioli. “Pope Leo is the face of resistance against the militarization of religion.”
The clash is embarrassing for Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019. He said he was “disappointed” by some clerics’ criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, but insisted that the administration “respects” the Pope and that it is normal to have disagreements. However, he urged the Vatican to “stand on moral issues.” The Vatican responded that war and peace are precisely moral issues and a core part of Church doctrine. The ideological clash represents a battle for the minds and hearts of some 53 million American Catholics (about 20% of the population). It could also affect the election, as Catholics have been key to Trump’s electoral success, especially in Midwestern states.
Polls show that support for Trump among Catholics has begun to decline, especially over his immigration policies and the cost of living. A recent poll found that 54% of American Catholics disapprove of his job as president. Trump’s Catholic base has also been shaken by his comments on Iran.
“The pope should speak on these issues as a representative of Christ,” said John Yep of the conservative group Catholics for Catholics. Historically, Catholic voters have been closer to the Democratic Party, but they shifted to the right in the 1980s with Ronald Reagan and the anti-abortion movement. The Vatican and Washington also collaborated against communism, especially during the papacy of John Paul II. However, tensions have increased under Pope Francis, who has shifted the Church’s focus to issues such as climate change and developing-country debt. Unlike him, Leo, a typical American from Chicago, is harder to attack in this regard.
Despite his lack of overt religious devotion, Trump has won support from Catholics for appointing conservative judges who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. But many in the Vatican believe the American Church has become too close to the Republican Party.
Leo wants her to move away from political polarization and focus on broader issues like economic inequality. “The power of the pope is hard for Trump to grasp,” says Christopher Hale. “He doesn’t take it by force, but by moral authority.” Some Christians were shocked by Trump’s harsh language on social media and an artificial intelligence-generated image of him as Jesus. Professor John Kenneth White says attacking the pope could backfire on Trump. “It’s politically stupid. It makes no sense,” he says. “The Trump coalition is under pressure, and Catholics are not immune to it.” “The pope is now the most important American on the world stage,” he adds. “Trump just can’t stand it.”