American Jesus Picks Fight With the Pope

Religion0 commentsBy Kerri

In a Sunday night tirade on Truth Social, Trump attacked Pope Leo for speaking out against the Trump administration, and even suggested that Pope Leo wouldn’t have been elected as pontiff if not for Trump being president, winning in “a landslide.”

Trump attacks the Pope in a Truth Social rant, calling him “weak” and attacking his views on foreign policy, Iran, and even his legitimacy as pontiff—claiming he wouldn’t be Pope if Trump weren’t president.

— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-04-13T01:13:28.674Z

Soon after, Trump was questioned by reporters about his Truth Social rant.

Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV: "I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess. … I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo."

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2026-04-13T01:27:29.427236705Z

To put an exclamation point on his attacks, Trump posted an image of himself as an “American Jesus” healing the sick.

Also on Sunday evening, “60 Minutes” led with a story on three American cardinals speaking out against the Trump administration’s war in Iran and mass deportations.

I can't be the only person wondering if tonight's lead story on "60 Minutes" – "Pope Leo statements on Iran war and mass deportations inspire American cardinals to speak out" – had something to do with Trump (a known viewer) going off about the Pope tonight www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-le…

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter.bsky.social) 2026-04-13T02:30:30.470Z

“To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening. This is not who we are,” says Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, criticizing what he calls the White House’s “gamification” of the war on social media.

— 60 Minutes (@60minutes.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T23:29:31.267Z

Cardinal Joseph Tobin criticizes the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. “When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody's got to call that out,” he says.

— 60 Minutes (@60minutes.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T23:30:04.041Z

The Pope responds:

Asked directly about Trump’s comments on Truth Social, Leo said: “It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more.”

The Pope claps back very papally…

— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2026-04-13T12:20:04.041Z