Trump Attacks Pope Leo XIV After the Pontiff Condemns War and Calls Out Delusional Omnipotence

Donald Trump has launched another direct attack on Pope Leo XIV, calling him “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” after the pontiff condemned the “madness of war” and warned against a “delusion of omnipotence” amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

In a Truth Social post that reads like a fever dream, Trump also announced he likes the Pope’s brother Louis much better “because Louis is all MAGA.” Louis holds no official Church or government role.

The trigger? Pope Leo had the audacity to speak plainly about peace. During an evening prayer at St. Peter’s Basilica, he warned of “a delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us” and urged political leaders to step back from the brink. He did not name Trump. He did not have to.

The Pope later told reporters: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly. … The message of the Church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician.” And for that, Trump called him weak.

The man who bragged about assaulting women is now lecturing the Pope on strength

Before we go any further, let us recall exactly who is calling Pope Leo “weak.” This is the same Donald Trump who was found liable for sexual abuse under New York law (E. Jean Carroll, $5 million, it’s on the record). The same man who bragged on tape about grabbing women “by the pussy.” The same man who cheated on two wives, had children in both affairs, and once said he would date his own daughter (“If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her” – his words).

And yet, Trump’s loyal followers, including a striking number of self-described Catholics, somehow believe he is holier than the Pope. Why? Because God “adorned him with riches.” That’s it. That’s the entire moral architecture. Rich = virtuous. Wealth is the only proof of righteousness you need.

Pope Leo did not mention Trump by name. He didn’t have to.

The war in Iran, launched by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, has seen Trump threaten, in writing, that “a whole civilization will die tonight.” That threat remains unwithdrawn. The Pope called it the “delusion of omnipotence.” He said that “even in the Name of God,” God is being dragged into “discourses of death.”

Now, who might that be referring to? Conservative Catholic commentators have interpreted the Pope’s remarks as aimed at figures like Pete Hegseth, who invoked Christian language to justify the strikes. Whether the Pope intended that or not, the overlap is uncomfortable.

And then there are Trump’s own Catholic enablers. Take Caroline Leavitt, the Press Secretary, who reportedly identifies as Catholic and daily defends behaviour that includes threatening an entire civilisation. Or JD Vance, a recent Catholic convert who has written a book about his faith while aligning himself with the same warmongering rhetoric the Pope explicitly condemns.

Vance, by the way, has also attacked the European Union in recent days, largely, it seems, because its basic decency is an affront to him. But he goes to Mass. So that’s fine, right?

What do their priests say?

Pope Leo is doing his job. He stood in St. Peter’s and called out the delusion of omnipotence. He said he has no fear of this White House. That is brave. That is what the Gospel demands.

But the harder question is not about the Pope. It is about the Catholic in the pew who votes for Trump, who receives communion, and whose priest says nothing. Do those priests pray for peace on Sunday and then stay silent when Leavitt defends mass civilian targeting on Monday? Do they wash their hands like Pilate? Do they tell themselves that politics is separate from faith?

Vance has said he prays that the “United States is on God’s side.” His local priest should be challenging that blasphemous nonsense from the pulpit. Instead, I suspect, the priest is quietly hoping no one brings it up at the potluck.

The contradiction that lingers

Pope Leo spoke for the Gospel. The silence of Trump’s Catholic enablers speaks for something else entirely. We are told that Trump is a “Christian” president. We are told that his wealth proves God’s favour. We are told that the Pope is “weak” because he refuses to bless war.

And yet, the sexual abuse verdict sits there. The affairs, the lies, the cruelty, all of it sits there, untouched, while Catholics who should know better genuflect and look away. That is not a political disagreement. That is a moral collapse. And no amount of Truth Social ranting about Louis (whoever he is) can change it.