Trump Attacked the Pope. Shared Himself as Jesus. The Pope Said “No Fear.”
The big picture: Trump posted a rambling attack on Pope Leo, took credit for his papacy (”If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican”), and shared an image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ. He deleted the image after backlash from his own supporters. MTG said it looks like he’s “replacing Jesus.” Three American Cardinals went on 60 Minutes to echo the Pope’s criticism of the war and immigration policy. The Pope responded: “I have no fear of the Trump administration. Blessed are the peacemakers is a message the world needs to hear today.”
Why it matters: 70 million Catholics in the U.S. The Pope, three American Cardinals, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and MTG are all now in open conflict with the president on moral and religious grounds. Trump is telling the Pope to stop being a politician while posting himself as Jesus. The midterms are eight months away.
Trump’s rant: Called the Pope “WEAK on Crime, terrible for Foreign Policy.” Said he likes Leo’s brother better because he’s “all MAGA.” Claimed Leo was only made Pope because he’s American and “they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.” Told the Pope to “get his act together” and “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
The Jesus image: Trump shared an image depicting himself as Christ. Nearly identical to one posted by loyalist Nick Adams in February. Even Truth Social users asked him to take it down. MTG: “It looks like Trump is trying to show himself replacing Jesus. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!” Trump deleted the post but doubled down on attacking the Pope to reporters.
The Cardinals: 60 Minutes aired interviews with Cardinals McElroy, Tobin, and Cupich. McElroy on Iran: “This is a war of choice. We’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.” Tobin on ICE: “When people have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they violate our Constitution and Bill of Rights, somebody’s got to call that out.”
The Pope’s response: On a flight to Algeria to begin a 10-day, 11-city, 11,000-mile Africa tour: “I have no fear of the Trump administration. Nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. Blessed are the peacemakers is a message the world needs to hear today.” The tour includes 25 speeches on natural resource exploitation, Catholic-Muslim dialogue, and political corruption.
By the numbers:
1.4 billion — Catholics worldwide
70 million — Catholics in the U.S.
3 — American Cardinals who publicly sided with the Pope
25 — speeches planned on the Pope’s Africa tour
11,000 — miles the Pope will travel
1 — deleted image of Trump as Jesus Christ
0 — fear the Pope has of the Trump administration
The bottom line: The president attacked the Pope, took credit for his papacy, shared himself as Jesus, deleted it after his own supporters objected, and told reporters the Pope “likes crime.” The Pope responded with “no fear” and “blessed are the peacemakers.” Three Cardinals sided with the Pope on national TV. MTG says he’s replacing Jesus. Tucker says anti-Christ. Candace says satanic. AND Trump’s response is to tell the Pope to stop being political while literally posting himself as Christ. 70 million Catholics vote. The midterms are eight months away. Trump seems to think he can win a moral authority fight with the Pope. Based on what his own base is saying, he should rethink that.
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