President Donald Trump has long been associated with bold, incendiary remarks, and few individuals within his inner circle ever challenge him. Critics argue that this dynamic is part of the problem: no one in his close orbit speaks the truth or explains the real-world consequences of his words and actions.
That very dynamic is now creating a notable challenge for the president as the midterm elections approach, with his ongoing bitter feud with Pope Leo XIV ricocheting through his MAGA base—a coalition of Christians from across denominations—and fracturing over the pope’s provocative remarks about the pontiff.
Trump now finds himself in the unusual position of trying to persuade his supporters that he is not locked in a stubborn clash with Pope Leo over the president’s campaign against Iran, but rather that the fault lies with the pontiff—who leads a global Catholic population of about a billion—because Leo is alleged to back a nuclear-armed Iran.
Astonishingly, that is the latest tactic the president is throwing at Pope Leo as their exchange grows heated.
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On Thursday, April 16, Trump paused to answer reporters’ questions outside the White House, one journalist shouting, “Why are you feuding with the pope, and are you worried this is upsetting your base?”
“No, no I have to do what’s right,” Trump answered. “The pope has to understand, it’s very simple—I bear no ill will toward the pope, his brother is MAGA all the way. I like his brother, Lewis.”
“Then why are you fighting with him?” another reporter cut in.
“I’m not fighting with him,” Trump claimed, before offering a different take on the feud.
“The pope issued a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if you look at the 42,000 people who have been killed in the last few months—those protesters with no weapons—I mean, I can disagree with the pope. I have the right to disagree,” Trump asserted.
Pope Leo has never stated that he believes Iran should possess a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, Leo—often described as the first American pontiff—has been openly critical of Trump’s aggressive approach toward Iran since the conflict began in late February, naming him directly and even suggesting—optimistically—that Trump might seek an “off‑ramp.” Yet when Trump warned of annihilating Iran’s civilization last week, the exchange between the pope and the president intensified dramatically.
Trump unleashed another furious backlash on social media.
“Lmao now he’s literally lying on live TV, making up things the Pope didn’t even say, only to be corrected and shown up instantly. This guy is a ridiculous clown,” wrote one X user, Bill the Beaver.
“Every time Trump opens his dirty mouth, he lies. What a despicable human being,” another commenter chimed in.
A third observer noted, “He got corrected and still stood by it… that’s crazy.”
One poster perhaps summed it up best, remarking, “I have the right to disagree with something the Pope NEVER SAID—Trump’s so‑called logic.”
Leo condemned Trump’s ominous warning about annihilating Iran’s civilization as a threat against the entire Iranian people, calling it “truly unacceptable,” as PBS reported.
CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, suggested Monday that Trump may be picking the wrong fight entirely and risking public scrutiny by targeting a figure whom many Americans already embrace far more than him.
“Maybe President Trump is jealous of Pope Leo XIV because it’s a blowout, a decisive blowout,” Enten observed, underscoring the stark contrast in public perception between the two men. “Pope Leo XIV is clearly outpacing Trump in popularity, and the notion of going after the pope may be exactly the wrong move for a candidate trying to reconnect with Catholics.”
That gap is dramatic. Leo holds a net favorability rating of +34 points in NBC News polling released in March, making him the most positively viewed public figure polled. By contrast, Trump sits at -12 in the same survey.
“That’s nearly a 50-point disparity in popular opinion,” Enten added.
