The great confrontation of the week has been between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and Pope Leo XIV. During his trip to Africa, the Pontiff made a statement at the meeting for fish in Bamenda (Cameroon), where a civil war has been going on for a decade. He said that “a bunch of tyrants” were “destroying the world,” which was interpreted as a reference to Trump.
The president himself was upset by the Pope’s statements and, in fact, responded to him, ensuring that he was “weak against crime” and “terrible in foreign policy.” The Pontiff took up the witness and said that he would continue to raise his voice against the war because that is what the Gospel indicated and that he was not afraid of the Trump administration.
Trump-Meloni confrontation
In the midst of this confrontation, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appeared, describing Trump’s criticism of the Pope as “unacceptable”: “I would not feel calm in a society in which religious leaders do what political leaders say. Not in this part of the world.” Trump responded in an interview by saying that she was the “unacceptable” one: “She is the one who is unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and she would blow up Italy in two minutes if she had the chance.”
In The World Order Julia in the waveBlas Moreno and Alba Leiva, explain what consequences the drift he is taking and his recent attacks towards the Vatican may have for the president. The White House did not like Leo XIV criticizing Trump’s anti-immigration policy and, above all, the war in Iran. In fact, JD Vance went so far as to say that the Pope would have to be more careful when talking about theology.
“I like that the Pope is a defender of peace, it is what is expected of him. But how can he say that God is never on the side of those who take the sword? Wasn’t God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis, or of those who liberated the concentration camps of the Holocaust? I think it is very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about theology,” he said.
“A low-profile Leo XIV was expected, but he is following a very hard line”
“Tremendous plot pirouette and tremendous ego to compare the liberation of France from the Nazis with Trump’s anti-immigration policies or with entering Iran to assassinate the supreme leader illegally,” reflects Alba Leiva.
International experts explain that it is interesting to see how relations with the Vatican are being woven because, when Leo XIV was elected, it was expected that he would have a low profile, since we came from a Francis with a very clear and very charismatic presence. The hint that the new Pope was also American made one think that he was going to have collusion with Donald Trump. Nothing could be further from the truth, since the Pontiff is positioning himself in this speech in defense of humanitarian values and is following a very hard line in this regard.
Trump is angering Catholics
Therefore, the analysis that can be made is that we are not going to have a Pope as quiet as we expected and that has been bad for the White House. But Trump has to be careful because “he is angering all Catholics,” not only because of his statements criticizing the Pope, but also because of the photo he published of himself as Jesus Christ and created with Artificial Intelligence: “In the end, it is attacking the Catholic vision and laughing at religion.”
“It is not in Trump’s interest to despise the Catholic vote because we can see that in the US evangelicals are very strong, but the Catholic vote is very important there. He cannot despise it and this confrontation with the Pope could be a bit expensive for him if he wants to scratch certain votes,” reflects Blas Moreno.
Discomfort in the European extreme right
Another variable is that this clash between Trump and the Pope is generating a very uncomfortable situation for the European right and extreme right since it is one thing to criticize the European Union or certain governments, but quite another to mess with the Church: “It is quicksand,” reflects Julia Otero.
“Let’s see if his support is going to be toxic for the electoral expectations of his admirers until recently,” says the presenter: “Even Vox has very timidly distanced itself from Trump on this matter. The European right has also realized that Trump does not help them win elections.”
What is clear, in Leiva’s opinion, is that they are increasingly realizing and are “navigating Trump’s foreign policy turns in a more complicated way because it affects them and what they defend: Catholic values.” Meloni is the prime minister in one of the great centers of Catholicism in Europe and in the world (The Vatican), and they have a very close relationship: “The collaboration they can have is very deep and it is not in their best interest to break it or generate a schism by getting closer to a changing Donald Trump.”
“Italy has alignments with the European Union and has to navigate. The same thing happens with Vox in Spain and other European right-wing parties, they have to position themselves to see how that relationship with Trump affects them. Because if people perceive that Trump is a threat to our economy and well-being, it can work against them if they stand next to each other and take a photo with his administration,” says Leiva.
