MAGA v the Pope: How Trump and his supporters are gunning for woke, left-wing, pro-immigration pontiff
Donald Trump lauded Pope Leo XIV's appointment as a 'great honour' for the US after he became the first American to head up the Catholic Church last May.
But it took less than a year for Trump to dramatically turn on the pontiff – claiming credit for his ascent from Chicago to the Vatican and launching a bizarre diatribe against the Pope over his lack of support for the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The US President called Pope Leo ‘weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy’ before sparking controversy for posting an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
In a scathing Truth Social post, Trump also accused the leader of the Catholic Church of being a ‘very liberal person’ who is ‘weak on nuclear weapons’ and claimed ‘if I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican’.
Trump has faced a barrage of criticism from across the world but it is not the first time the MAGA movement has lashed out at the pontiff.
Leo, 70, has angered the American right and has been branded the 'woke pope' for his views on immigration, climate change and inequality.
He has spoken in favour of gun control, pleading for an end to the ‘pandemic of arms’, posted in support of George Floyd and blasted Trump’s treatment of migrants as ‘extremely disrespectful’.
He was blisteringly attacked in the days after he replaced Pope Francis as leader of the Catholic world and when he took aim at JD Vance and a number of key Trump policies online.
The 'woke pope' was ridiculed for blessing a block of ice from Greenland that signified melting glaciers at a conference in Rome
Donald Trump faced backlash from world leaders and Catholics across the globe after he posted a photograph depicting himself as Jesus
Steve Bannon, the former White House Chief Strategist, called him the 'worst pick for MAGA Catholics' and deemed him the 'anti-Trump pope'.
He said his appointment was ‘jaw-dropping’ and it ‘is shocking to me that a guy could be selected to be the Pope that had had the Twitter feed and the statements he's had against American senior politicians'.
While podcaster Joey Mannarino told his 600,000 followers the new Pope was a 'liberal piece of s**t’.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who maintains close ties with Trump, said: 'He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis. Catholics don’t have anything good to look forward to.'
Months into his papacy he was ridiculed for blessing a block of ice from Greenland that signified melting glaciers at a conference in Rome.
'We will raise hope by demanding that leaders act with courage, not delay,' Leo said as he gave the frozen water his blessing.
He then asked: 'Will you join with us?'
He also condemned skeptics who 'ridicule those who speak of global warming’ in what appeared to be a dig at Trump, who has called climate change a ‘con’.
Leo has strongly taken up his predecessor Francis's ecological mantle, giving his blessing to a Vatican plan to turn an agricultural field north of Rome into a vast solar farm.
Once it is up and running, the farm is expected to make the Vatican City the world´s first carbon-neutral state.
And in his first major text he emphasised the pursuit of economic justice, welcoming migrants and caring for the planet as he criticised Trump’s plans as ‘inhumane’, urging American bishops to speak out.
He also drew objections from some pro-abortion conservatives after he accused some of hypocrisy for being in favour of the death penalty.
'Someone who says "I'm against abortion" but says "I am in favour of the death penalty" is not really pro-life,' Leo said. 'Someone who says that "I'm against abortion, but I'm in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States", I don't know if that's pro-life.'
The US President has repeatedly lashed out at Pope Leo, calling him weak on crime and foreign policy, after the pontiff criticised the war in Iran
Leo has also attacked Vice President Vance’s stance on immigration.
Vance said in January: 'There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then, after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.'
Critics judged Vance, a Catholic, of misreading Thomas Aquinas's idea of the 'order of love', accusing him of using the concept to support political ideology.
The Pope joined in the backlash, writing: 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.'
And in 2018, he shared a post which read: ‘There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.'
But his words about the Iran war sparked the most fury from Trump and even prompted an intervention from Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, who said the insults were ‘not acceptable’.
The pontiff has repeatedly condemned the war in Iran, saying it has caused ‘absurd and inhuman violence’.
Last Saturday he told worshippers at St Peter’s Basilica: 'Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!'
He then criticised the President over his threats against Iran, when he warned that 'a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again'.
The Pope called it a 'truly unacceptable' statement.
Trump's comments have even caused a rupture with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, his closest European ally.
The right wing leader had been a vociferous supporter of Trump, but she strongly criticised his decision to go to war with Iran, and on Monday, denounced his tirades against the Pope as 'unacceptable'.
She added: 'The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he calls for peace and condemns all forms of war.'
Pope Leo swiped back he had 'no fear' of Trump, telling him he will continue speaking out against war
As the row with Trump escalated, Vance warned the Pope to ‘be careful' when he talks about matters of theology
Trump hit back at the Italian premier in an interview with Corriere della Sera, claiming he has not spoken with Meloni 'for a long time' and she was 'very different from what I thought'.
'She is the one who is unacceptable,' he said, 'because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance'.
Trump first attacked the pontiff on Sunday night, hitting out at his alleged weakness on crime and foreign policy.
He had earlier told reporters on Sunday: '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.'
Trump also accused the leader of the Catholic Church, which has 1.4billion members, of 'toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon'.
He lashed out again at the pontiff on Sunday night, writing on Truth Social: 'I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.
'I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,' Trump said.
The President went deeper on his opposition to Pope Leo and the church's stance on several issues including COVID lockdowns.
'He talks about "fear" of the Trump Administration, but doesn't mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organisations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart,' Trump wrote.
He then claimed that Pope Leo 'criticises the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do'.
Pope Leo swiped back he had 'no fear' of Trump.
The Pope said on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against war, saying: 'I don't want to get into a debate with him.'
Speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where Leo started a 10-day tour to four African countries, he said: 'I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
'I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.
'Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way.'
Trump reignited the war of words on Tuesday.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: ‘Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.’
It further escalated on Thursday with Leo taking a thinly veiled swipe at Trump, claiming the world is 'being ravaged by a handful of tyrants'.
Trump posted a second AI image on Truth Social, where he was embraced by Jesus Christ, after facing backlash for depicting himself as Jesus
Leo has strongly taken up Francis's ecological mantle, giving his blessing to a Vatican plan to turn an agricultural field north of Rome into a vast solar farm
He made the unusually forceful remarks during a trip to Cameroon in what is his second major foreign visit since being elected to the papacy in May last year.
He condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilisation and death' on a visit to Bamenda, a 'bloodstained' region of Cameroon which has been gripped by a separatist insurgency for nearly a decade.
'Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,' the pontiff said in a speech at Saint Joseph's Cathedral.
He added: 'The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.
'They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.'
As the row with Trump escalated, Vance warned the Pope to ‘be careful when he talks about matters of theology'.
Although Trump routinely attacks world leaders, his latest spat has alienated some of his most ardent supporters.
Much of the President’s support base are conservative Catholics. And Trump, who rarely attends church, has upset many by insulting their spiritual leader.
Trump loyalist Shane Schaetzel said he has cancelled his subscription to Truth Social and sold his stocks in Trump’s businesses.
The author from Missouri, who voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, told The Times: ‘I’ve been very patient and very balanced in the feud erupting between him and the Pope. This, however, is too much. Donald Trump just lost my support.’
Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, previously a strong ally of President Trump, wrote: 'On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus.
'This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilisation. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!'
'It’s more than blasphemy,' she added on a second account. 'It’s an Antichrist spirit.'
Other members of the MAGA base expressed criticism following the President's controversial post.
'Oh hell no,' wrote hard-Right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
'We tolerated this kind of meme against our better judgment because he promised to save America and only when it was clear he didn’t actually think he was the Messiah.'
Right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich also criticised the post, writing on X: 'Trump's first post was fine. The Pope has a long documented political record. The follow-up posts? Would not be tolerated for any other religion.'
Christian figures on both sides of the Atlantic were left incensed – including Massimo Faggioli, a theologian and expert on the papacy based at the Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin, who said: 'There is no ambiguity about the situation now.'
Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican after he was appointed leader of the Catholic Church
He compared the comments to efforts by the leaders of Germany and Italy during the Second World War to draw the late Pope Pius XII to support their causes, adding: 'Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the pope so directly and publicly.
UK Catholic commentator Austen Ivereigh said Mr Trump's 'remarkable' move could mean 'the end' for his presidency, adding: 'He's now crossed the line. This is a deeply unpopular war, but I think what he's doing now is tipping into a level of messianism and narcissism, which I think everybody is now recognising as deeply troubling.'
On Wednesday morning the US-based Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic men's fraternity in the world, released a statement from its Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly defending the Pope.
It said: ‘Pope Leo XIV has consistently called for peace, dialogue, and restraint in a world marked by war and suffering.
’The Holy Father's words are not political talking points – they are reflections of the Gospel itself.'
Despite widespread criticism, some of Trump’s most loyal allies have leapt to his defence.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Pope should have expected backlash for wading into ‘political waters’.
He said he was ‘taken a little bit aback’ by the Pope's comments about ‘those who engage in war, that Jesus doesn't hear their prayers' or something'.
‘It is a very well-settled matter of Christian theology, there's something called the “just war” doctrine,’ he added.
Texas Congressman Troy Nehls joined the criticism of the Pope, telling him to 'stay out of politics' on Wednesday.
The Pope came from humble beginnings in southern Chicago suburbs (pictured in his youth with Pope John Paul II)
He said: 'The Pope needs to keep his business to leading his flock, leading the church, and stay out of the political arena.
'Go lead your church. Stay out of politics. We didn’t elect the Pope to be the president. Donald Trump is our president.'
Despite being the first American pontiff, for many in MAGA he will never be America first.
And he won't back down against Trump, admitting: 'I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message in the Gospel.'
