A massive firestorm of international condemnation erupted on Orthodox Easter Monday after President Donald Trump launched a vicious attack on Pope Leo XIV and shared an image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ.
People, cutting across the political and religious spectrum, labeled the remarks as “deranged,” “abhorrent,” and a dangerous display of a “messiah complex.”
It came days after Pope Leo XIV strongly criticized Trump’s unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the threat to end the Iranian civilization, which the Pontiff called “truly unacceptable” on moral and international law grounds.
In response, Trump lashed out at the spiritual leader of over 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide
Political analyst Larry Sabato referred to the US president’s “monumental arrogance,” quoting him as saying, “I don’t want a Pope who…”
Sabato recalled a previous incident where Trump tweeted a manipulated image of himself dressed as the Pope, stating, “That’s the Pontiff this vainglorious super-narcissist wants.”
The backlash was swift and severe from Catholic elected officials in the US and outside.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who identifies as Catholic, condemned the attack on the Catholic spiritual leader in strong terms.
“As a Catholic, I find it abhorrent that the President of the United States would publicly attack the Successor of St. Peter,” Kelly wrote.
He linked the attack on the Pope to Trump’s foreign policy, saying his war on Iran “has led to the death and injury of American servicemembers and the death of Iranian children.”
US Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) called the remarks “deranged and disgusting,” questioning whether it might finally prompt Vice President JD Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a staunch Trump ally, noted that the attack on Pope occurred on Orthodox Easter.
“President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran,” she wrote, adding that Trump then “posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus.
Melanie Darrigo also weighed in on the inflammatory remarks that have sparked a global controversy, adding to the chorus of voices condemning the US president.
“I’m old enough to remember when attacking the Pope would hurt your polling with US evangelicals,” she wrote in a post on X.
“But since they stuck with Trump through the lies, rapes, child rapes, adultery, fraud and wars — I guess it’s safe to say that who those US evangelicals worship isn’t Christ.”
Perhaps the most stinging rebukes came from within Christian leadership
Rev. James Martin, SJ, a prominent Jesuit priest, wrote that while he doubted Pope Leo XIV would lose sleep over the attack ahead of his pilgrimage to Africa, “the rest of us should. Because it is unhinged, uncharitable and unchristian.”
“Is there no bottom to this moral squalor?” he asked.
During a Q&A with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said, “We do not like a pope that is going to say that it is OK to have a nuclear weapon … He is a man that does not think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” adding, “I am not a fan of Pope Leo.”
