Trump finds a tough guy from Chicago that he can’t intimidate: Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV, a studious and soft-spoken cleric, and Donald Trump, an unapologetically bellicose and pugilistic politician, have long been on a rhetorical collision course. Now their disagreement over the war in Iran has escalated in spectacular fashion, and their comments show how differently each see the conflict and its impact.

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On social media, Trump said Leo was “Weak” and captive to the “Radical Left,” even suggesting that Leo somehow owed his position to Trump. The pope has declared Trump’s threats toward Iran “truly unacceptable” and pointed his flock to Biblical text and church doctrine on war and peace, explaining that his purpose is not about Trump at all.

“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration,” Leo said Monday on the way to Africa, “or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for.”

It’s an unusual spectacle involving the world’s two biggest megaphones, both held by Americans for the first time. Here is how they got to this point.

Before the papacy, Robert Prevost did not mince words

WHAT HE SAID: When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the future pope was a bishop in Peru. He did not shy away from assigning clear blame to Moscow. On a Peruvian show “Weekly Expression,” Prevost described an “imperialist invasion in which Russia wants to conquer territory for reasons of power given Ukraine’s strategic location.”

The clip resurfaced in Italian media soon after he was elected pope on May 8, 2025.

In early 2025, then-Cardinal Prevost used social media to share a news analyses that criticized U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a converted Catholic, for justifying harsh immigration policy by arguing that Christianity sets a pecking order of caring for others, putting one’s family, immediate community and fellow citizens above foreigners.

“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” read the headline that the future pope shared.

CONTEXT AND WHY IT MATTERS: Catholic bishops comment often in their local media, and some achieve considerable influence. But they vary widely in how detailed they are about public policy and politics. Many stick to broad statements about church doctrine and values and avoid taking stands at odds with individual politicians. With his comments in Peru and then his rare retweet as a cardinal in Rome, Prevost showed he kept abreast of world affairs and was willing to be quite direct in his critiques.

Trump celebrated the ‘Great Honor’ of Pope Leo’s election

WHAT HE SAID: “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope,” Trump posted on Truth Social on May 8, 2025. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Trump later said at the White House that “we were a little bit surprised and very happy” with Leo’s election.

By Monday, he was using Truth Social to take credit for Leo’s election: “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

WHY IT MATTERS: Trump sees Leo in terms of nationalistic pride and loyalty. The immediate look toward meeting Leo (something that still hasn’t happened) reflected his typical embrace of power and celebrity, even when it isn’t a natural political fit. Further, Trump’s takes do not reflect any nuance about Leo’s origins or the Vatican’s relationship with the U.S.

The College of Cardinals historically has viewed the U.S. with some skepticism — specifically because of how Washington’s military and economic policy have affected the world, especially poor nations, and with a general reluctance to grant the papacy to someone from the world’s preeminent superpower.

Leo grew up, was educated and then ordained in the States but spent decades as a church leader elsewhere, including in poor areas of South America. “He was the least American of the Americans,” said Steven Millies, a professor at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union, where a young Leo earned his master of divinity.

From the start, Pope Leo reflected church teachings on war and peace

WHAT HE SAID: “Peace with you all … the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God.”

Those were Leo’s first words from the balcony of St. Peters. When he returned to the loggia for his first Sunday blessing, he addressed the Russian war on Ukraine and violence between Israel and Gaza, decrying a “third world war in pieces.” The following Monday, Leo opened an audience with journalists by quoting Jesus. “In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” the pontiff said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Leo’s earliest statements all emphasized “peace” as a central message of Jesus — and previewed a likely theme of his papacy. Adding menti