President Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV has only become more acerbic since the commander-in-chief posted an AI-generated image of himself last week. The image depicted him dressed as a Christlike healer laying hands on an infirm individual’s forehead as light radiated from his fingers. The image was deleted after public outrage, but its message was apparent: Trump perceives himself as the almighty savior. When confronted, Trump disingenuously retorted that the image represented him “as a physician.” It would appear that when it comes to insulting people’s intelligence, Trump is capable of taking things to an entirely new level.

Heralding messages of peace has been par for the course with Pope Leo and his predecessors. Pope Leo has denounced the Iran conflict from the outset with a degree of intensity that is highly reminiscent of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis. Indeed, he has challenged President Trump with a level of frequency and forcefulness that few other political leaders have managed. Although he emphasized peace and unification when he first assumed his role as pontiff, Pope Leo has refused to refrain from being outspoken. On the contrary, he has heightened his rhetoric and criticism, earning scorn from various conservative segments, particularly the Christian right.

The president’s targeting of the pope, who has been severely critical of the war in Iran, has enraptured right-wing media. It has also ignited tensions within the GOP, with conservative media personalities debating the pontiff’s leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope attracted complaints from MAGA Christian leaders when he declared, “God doesn’t listen to the prayers of warmongers. The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is oft not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation.”

Franklin Graham, son of the late renowned evangelist Billy Graham, took issue with these remarks. He posted on X that “God does take sides in history . . . I don’t support war, but I do believe, at times, there is justification when you’re fighting evil.” Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins was more direct: “The Pope needs a history lesson.” However, these comments do not obscure the fact that Graham was just making pathetic excuses for Trump and Perkins was telling the pope, of all people, that he needs to educate himself on the history of the Catholic Church. Such comments are not only the height of intellectual dishonesty, they are also morally abhorrent. Such hypocrisy should not come as much of a surprise given that this is the same Tony Perkins who has overlooked Trump’s despicable behavior countless times while viciously deriding and denouncing Bill Clinton for similar transgressions. Such disturbing double standards are not lost on anyone with a sense of fairness and equality.

The pope, demonstrating the moral audacity to criticize Trump, intensified Trump’s hostility toward him. Pope Leo justifiably denounced the vulgar rant Trump posted on Truth Social on Easter Sunday where he threatened to destroy the Iranian nation. He described it as “unacceptable,” and castigated the “delusion of omnipotence” that resulted in the military conflict by arguing, “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” More than a few people, including yours truly, fully concurred with this sentiment. Trump, with his infamously thin skin, neither would nor could allow such direct admonition from anyone, including the Bishop of Rome. Thus, in a supposed effort to “set the pope straight,” Trump responded by accusing Leo of being “Weak on Crime” and “Weak on Nuclear Weapons.” He claimed that Leo was “not his preference for Pope” and that he favored Leo’s brother Louis because “Louis is all MAGA.”

Trump may have Louis’s support, but offending Catholic voters is probably not in Trump’s or any politician’s best interests. Research indicates that they are the United States’ largest group of religious swing voters. They heavily cast their votes for Joe Biden in 2020, but in 2024, Trump won them over by a 10–20 point margin. This was, no doubt, the reason he was able to return to the White House for a second term. Trump does not have be concerned about running again - assuming he does not try to subvert the constitution and attempt to secure a third term. However, his vice president JD Vance - assuming he is interested in running for president, which seems increasingly likely - is a recent convert to Catholicism and may find it increasingly difficult to secure the Catholic vote.

Trump’s attacks on the pope have strengthened long-held historical assumptions that the Vatican is a menacing force eager to usurp American power. Indeed, modern history demonstrates that many post-World War II presidents have had tense encounters with various popes. John F. Kennedy went to great lengths to assuage fears that he would be the Vatican’s political puppet when he ran for president in 1960. Richard Nixon engaged in tense conversations with Pope John Paul VI about the Vietnam War. Pope John Paul II made it clear to President George Bush Jr about his displeasure with and opposition to the 2003 Iraq war. Additionally, Pope Francis took Joseph Biden to task for his less-than-definitive position on the abortion issue. Such disagreements were largely rooted in political policy rather than theological issues. Yet the truth is, no American president has ever responded to a pope with personal attacks and blatant lies as Trump has.

Pope Leo has responded to Trump’s tirade with dignity and composure. He told reporters aboard the papal plane yesterday that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and planned to continue to criticize the war. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said during his four-country tour of Africa. “It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.” To this, I say AMEN!