Leo XIV positions himself as the anti-Trump pope
A year after his election, the pontiff’s clash with the US president elevates his stature and presents far-right politicians and voters with an existential dilemma: whose side are they on?
If we recall the election of Leo XIV almost a year ago, on May 8, 2025, the prevailing interpretation was that it was the Catholic Church’s response to Donald Trump, a kind of antidote or even an anti-Trump. That expectation quickly deflated because Robert Prevost practically disappeared, adopting a prudent and observant stance that avoided direct confrontation with the president of his homeland. But he has managed to become that figure through a much more effective tactical maneuver.
He didn’t seek it out; it happened almost by accident. Paradoxically, it was Trump who forced him into it by insulting him last Sunday and eliciting a response from the pope that no other political leader has ever given him: “I’m not afraid of Trump.” The president has elevated the Pontiff to a moral authority, further solidified his international stature, and restored the Catholic Church’s central role. Quietly, in his own way, Leo XIV is now the anti-Trump. One almost has to go back to medieval times to find a precedent for a clash between temporal and spiritual power of this magnitude.
“Up until the end of 2025, it was quite clear that the pope had decided not to present himself as an opponent of Trump, but the situation has changed so much that he has had to do so, because his silence was becoming all too apparent when a government starts invoking God’s name and dropping bombs here and there; it was a problem for the Vatican,” explains Massimo Faggioli — an expert on Christianity in the United States in the Trump era and now a professor of theology at Trinity College Dublin — by telephone.
Leo XIV initially delegated criticism of Trump to the American bishops, but in November he condemned a potential invasion of Venezuela and, since January of this year, has become increasingly forceful in his defense of immigrants, international law, and his opposition to war. In the last month, he has responded almost weekly to the verbal excesses and religiously charged war rhetoric emanating from the White House. He never mentioned Trump by name, but his responses were always firm. Last week he spoke of a “delusion of omnipotence.” On Palm Sunday, he reminded everyone that God rejects war and the prayers of those who wage it, saying, “Your hands are full of blood.”
In January, after a speech to the diplomatic corps in which he defended the UN and multilateralism, the Pentagon summoned the Vatican nuncio to the U.S. for a meeting, according to recent reports. Journalistic accounts, denied last week, described the meeting as very tense and filled with threats that reminded the Vatican of a possible return to the Avignon Papacy of the 14th century, when the French crown imposed a change of papal seat. In any case, there was certainly a frank exchange of views, and the central issue was the White House’s displeasure with the pope’s criticism.
Pope refuses to travel to US
“The biggest blow came when Leo XIV said in February that he would not go to the United States. The White House wanted him to go; this year is the 250th anniversary of independence, and they wanted to exploit the trip,” Vatican sources point out, warning of the rise in the U.S. of a national-Catholicism reminiscent of the 1930s, with the added element of digital technocracy. “Trump is very clear that one of his most formidable opponents is the liberal Catholic Church, with its strong social conscience; that is why he is attacking it,” they note.
The effect of this clash of visions, with its strong religious underpinnings, could be profound on the Catholic vote and on the far-right political landscape in both the U.S. and Europe, precisely at a time when Viktor Orbán’s defeat in Hungary may suggest a shift in the rise of populism. Essentially, it forces leaders and voters to declare their allegiance: to the pope or to Donald Trump.
In Faggioli’s opinion, Trump’s rise in the U.S. will unite the Catholic Church, which has been highly polarized until now: “Certain bishops, theologians, and members of Congress are facing an immediate problem; they can’t pretend nothing has happened.” This expert believes that an internal rift could open up between the two factions of Trumpism: the old Republican conservatism and the new, tech-driven far right that doesn’t believe in democracy and embraces messianic values. “This movement sees Trump as a religious leader, a savior of the nation. It’s a new phenomenon, and so far it has served them well, but this time I think Trump has stepped into a quagmire from which I don’t know how he’ll emerge,” Faggioli remarks.
It’s no coincidence that after insulting the pope, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Christ healing a sick person. Nor is it a coincidence that he removed it a few hours later after a wave of blasphemy accusations. He’s walking a red line.
The underlying battle is intense in many countries, including in Europe: the far right’s appropriation of religious discourse and Christian values to lend a veneer of moral legitimacy to its arguments. Choosing between the pope and Trump puts European leaders in a difficult position, forcing them to take sides. For example, in Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is paying the price for her friendship with Trump, was accused on Monday of remaining silent about the attacks on the pope. This is especially true after she had proclaimed her Christian identity at dozens of rallies, including one in Spain with far-right party Vox. At the end of the day, she declared Trump’s words “unacceptable.”
Leo XIV himself warned Spanish bishops in November of the risk of the far right manipulating the Christian message, as revealed by EL PAÍS. In Spain, too, these events will force the Church to close ranks with the pope.
However, if we consider where Pope Francis stood in this political battle, and how Leo XIV got involved in it, the landscape has completely changed. The Argentinian pope was practically the Antichrist to the more traditional sectors, labeled a communist or, in Spain, a supporter of left-wing party Podemos. Given this climate, Prevost made it clear from the outset that his priority was to quell the polarization, to heal wounds both within and outside the Church: “I have no intention of getting involved in partisan politics,” he said in his first interview last September. But he also had a winning card that Francis didn’t: he can’t be denigrated as an enemy of the U.S. because he was born in Chicago, follows his city’s baseball team, and speaks to Americans in their language. He is far more dangerous as a rival for Trump.
Leo XIV wanted to calm the waters after the storm that Francis caused. In reality, his approach is the same, but with a more measured style, and the truth is that this tactic has ultimately clashed head-on with Trump. To do so, it has been enough for him to recall essential Christian values; he hasn’t given the impression that he’s engaging in politics.
For Jesuit Antonio Spadaro, a journalist and undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture, “Trump has recognized this moral authority that stood in his way and has attacked him as if he were just another politician.” “It is truly unprecedented language, which, in reality, is a declaration of impotence. He has clearly stated that, unable to accept this voice, he is trying to delegitimize it from a position of power. But in doing so, he acknowledges its weight; it is a sign that what the pope says matters, and thus the moral force of the Church emerges,” he explained to EL PAÍS by telephone.
On his recent trip to Africa, Leo XIV delivered remarks in Algeria on Monday that resonate even more strongly now, given his explicit confrontation with Trump: “A new course of history is more urgent than ever, in the face of continued violations of international law and neocolonial temptations. People and organizations that dominate others — Africa knows this well — destroy the world.” Then, speaking about immigration, he warned against the risk of turning the Mediterranean and the Sahara “into cemeteries where even hope dies.” “Authorities are called not to dominate, but to serve the people and their development,” he concluded. A truly anti-Trump speech.
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