Trump Attacks Pope Leo XIV: “If I Wasn't in the White House, Leo Wouldn't Be in the Vatican”
The president called the pope “weak on crime,” praised his brother Louis as “all MAGA,” and demanded Leo “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
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Before you read on: Pope Leo XIV has asked Americans to contact their members of Congress and demand an end to the war in Iran. Answer the pope’s call in one click at standwithpopeleo.com, an app we built to make it as easy as possible.
President Donald Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social on Sunday, calling the pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” and claiming credit for Leo’s election to the papacy.
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote, arguing that the Catholic Church chose Robert Prevost as pope only because he was American and “they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump’s post covered a sweeping range of grievances.
He attacked Pope Leo for criticizing the U.S. war in Iran, for opposing the American military operation in Venezuela, and for meeting with “Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left.”
He invoked COVID-era church closures, which occurred under his Administration, claiming the pope ignores the “FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services.”
Trump praised the pope’s biological brother by name: “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”
The president demanded that Leo “get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
Saturday’s attack comes after weeks of open conflict between the White House and the Vatican over the Iran war.
Pope Leo called the threat of nuclear annihilation “unacceptable” and enlisted American Catholics to contact their congressmen to demand an end to the war. Trump briefly backed down after the pope’s intervention, only to resume military operations days later.
The Pentagon had a contentious meeting with the Vatican’s ambassador, and the Trump-Vance White House targeted the Catholic Church throughout Holy Week.
Trump’s claim that Pope Leo “wasn’t on any list” to be pope is contradicted by reporting from inside the conclave, where Prevost emerged as a consensus candidate among cardinals from multiple factions after weeks of deliberation.
The president’s reference to Axelrod as an “Obama Sympathizer” follows weeks of White House frustration over reports that Obama may meet Pope Leo before Trump does.
Trump expanded on his attack in a press gaggle, telling reporters: “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime. He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
The president accused the pope of being soft on crime and sympathetic to Iran’s nuclear program: “We don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon.” He again invoked COVID-era church restrictions, asking “what about the fear when the ministers and the priests and all of those great people that were arrested during COVID?”
To Donald Trump and JD Vance, on behalf of 53 million American Catholics: we will not stand by and allow your government to attack our Holy Father. We will defeat you.
This is a developing story. Letters from Leo will have a full analysis shortly.
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Gee, I can admire the shepherd for Christ or a criminal pedophile who is the worst POtuS in American history? I believe I will side with the shepherd for Christ!!!
Sorry to say this, but Donald Trump lies like he breathes. He is also a self-centered malignant narcissist, who lacks the ability to empathize with anyone else. And of course he changed his mind at the last minute about the Iranian cease-fire, because he's disorganized, doesn't know what the heck he's doing, and makes it up as he goes along. And let us not forget the fact that five years ago on january 6th, Trump led an insurrection at the capitol, where many people died. There were people that, after attacking police, we're walking in the capitol building itself with confederate flags, shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” BecauseThe vice president wouldn't certify donald trump's lies about the election results. And the violence was so horrific that some people involved in that committed suicide. More presently, the fact that Pam Bondi's replacement immediately says, "let's just forget about the whole Epstein thing" shows how corrupt the entire system is. Trump has forced himself on countless women of ALL AGES throughout his life. Trump has also said, that if your famous and rich enough, "You can grab women by the p***y" He's also a pedophile, and has been mentioned in the Epstien files a record 38,000 times. Now he's started a war in the mid-east, where thousands of innocent people have been killed, including many children. The sooner he gets impeached, and/or removed from office due to health or other reasons, the better off the U.S. AND the world will be. Trump said he would keep the united states out of foreign war. He said he would lower the cost of living. What he has done is bomb Iran despite no imminent threat from them. And as one of the effects of this war, the cost of living for gasoline food, Medical care, housing and many other things continue to cost more. Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States, and the entire world. He needs to resign. The Republicans that have influence on him need to section 25, convince him to resign, and whatever, just get him the hell out of there! Sincerely David Morris, who was born one day long ago in Fort Wayne Indiana.