Poor, persecuted Donald Trump often casts himself as a modern-day messiah. Some of his supporters have even compared him directly to Jesus. And, to be fair, while the son of God didn’t eat Big Macs on a private jet or encourage his followers to buy AI stocks, there are similarities between the two—specifically, their miracle-working abilities. The former president may not turn water into wine, but he turned public office into a personal goldmine. This week, Trump also managed to transform a staunch atheist (me) into a defender of the Catholic Church.
I’m not defending everything, mind you—just Pope Leo XIV’s recent condemnations of war. “God does not bless any conflict,” the pope wrote on X on Friday. “Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who … drop bombs.” During Saturday prayers, the pope also called out the “delusion of omnipotence.” While Leo didn’t name names, his statements were widely seen as a rebuke of the Trump administration, which has often framed its warmongering in religious terms.
The inaugural FIFA peace prize winner certainly took the pontiff’s comments personally. On Sunday, Trump, who identifies as a nondenominational Christian, attacked the pope on Truth Social, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Shortly after, the president posted (and later deleted) an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure anointing the forehead of a man who looked vaguely like a skinny Jeffrey Epstein.
Like Jesus, Trump has his disciples: Sean Hannity, Trump’s best friend at Fox News, has joined the president’s holy war. “I hate the pope,” the anchor said on Friday, later questioning whether the pope had “even read the Bible.”
If I were the pope, I would not be turning the other cheek to all this. I’d ask God to do me a solid and send a plague of locusts to eat all the grass on Trump’s golf courses. Instead, he offered a more dignified response. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Leo said on Monday when asked about Trump’s comments. “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”
I know you’ve got to be good at mental gymnastics to be a Trump fan, but how are his Catholic supporters justifying these attacks on the pope? Many are not. A majority of Catholics disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war with Iran, and his stunt with the Christ-like picture didn’t go down well—even though Trump insisted the image was “supposed to be me as a doctor.”
Alienating Catholics isn’t the smartest move: they are the U.S.’s largest religious swing voters. They largely voted for Biden in 2020, but in 2024, Trump won the group by a 10- to 20-point margin. Unless he makes good on his threat to run for an unconstitutional third term, Trump doesn’t have to worry about courting the Catholic vote again himself, but he hasn’t made life easy for his Catholic vice president, J.D. Vance, who is widely seen as Trump’s successor. Vance has been very quiet about all this, leading Denise Murphy McGraw, the national co-chair of Catholics Vote Common Good, to call him out and state that silence is complicity.
Vance broke his silence on Fox News on Monday, saying, “It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality … and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” I know you’re desperate for your boss’s job, J.D., but I think it would be best for American public policy if there were a little less dictating and a little more morality.Join us in London for a discussion on the dramatic shifts in global politics, the concerning growth of populism and nationalism, and their worldwide consequences. The event will be livestreamed globally; you can book tickets here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the topic framed in a natural conversational tone with direct answers
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What does it mean when people say Trump might think hes the messiah
This is a figure of speech not a literal claim It refers to the intense almost religious devotion some of his supporters have for him and the perception that he sometimes presents himself as the sole anointed savior of the country against its enemies
2 Why did Trump criticize the Pope
Trump has publicly criticized Pope Francis in the past notably in 2016 for questioning his Christian faith and his stance on building a border wall which Trump viewed as a challenge to his policies and identity
3 Who is JD Vance and why does this matter for him
JD Vance is the US Senator from Ohio and Donald Trumps chosen running mate for the 2024 presidential election As the vicepresidential candidate his success is directly tied to unifying the Republican base and appealing to swing voters
4 How could criticizing the Pope hurt JD Vance
Catholic voters are a crucial swing demographic in key states like Pennsylvania Michigan and Wisconsin Alienating them by criticizing the leader of the Catholic Church could make it harder for the TrumpVance ticket to win these voters
Advanced Strategic Questions
5 Isnt the messiah talk just hype Why is it relevant to politics
Its relevant because it shapes the campaigns dynamics This narrative encourages a with us or against us loyalty test When Trump criticizes a widely respected figure like the Pope it forces allies like Vance into a difficult position defend the Pope and risk Trumps wrath or endorse the criticism and risk alienating other voter groups
6 Whats the specific risk for Vance with Catholic voters
Vance who converted to Catholicism has actively sought to build credibility with Catholic voters If he is seen as silently endorsing or being unable to moderate Trumps criticism of the Pope it could undermine his personal appeal to that community and make him look like a passive follower rather than a strong partner
7 Couldnt this just energize Trumps base more
Yes it likely would energize his core base which often views institutions like the papacy with skepticism However presidential elections are often won at the
