Trump's Praise For The New Pope Feels As Real As His Spray Tan

Cardinal Robert Prevost addressed a sea of happy, teary-eyed Catholics in St. Peter's Square on Thursday, May 8, as the newly elected pope, after Pope Francis' death in April. Prevost's election marks a significant point in history for the Roman Catholic Church, as he is the first American to hold the papacy. It's been said that the College of Cardinals has previously been hesitant to give the highest position to an American because of the already immense international reach that the U.S. has. Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, however, spent significant time in Peru, which could mitigate any concerns about his nationality. On the other hand, U.S. President Donald Trump seemed ecstatic about the American representation in the Vatican, even if his problematic pope pic suggested he wanted the position for himself.

Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday to congratulate the new pontiff on his appointment. "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 wrote, but his message seems insincere, considering the reports that their politics don't align — and if we learned anything from Trump's infamous meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he's not one for compromise. Let's see how Leo feels about Trump's pope jokes, too.

Before his election into the papacy, Pope Leo had already been critical of Donald Trump and his administration, which he voiced publicly on social media. On April 14, 2025, Leo reposted an X (formerly Twitter) post criticizing Trump and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for their remarks on the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom ICE believed was an MS-13 gang member and mistakenly deported to an infamous Salvadoran megaprison. According to The New York Times, the pontiff was often commended for showing support for Venezuelan immigrants during his time in Peru — a sign he does not agree with Trump's stance on immigration.

Leo even went after Vice President JD Vance on X in February, where he wrote: "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." He linked an op-ed — that's headline was the same as his caption — which criticized a comment Vance made to Fox News, where he said, "There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that."

Contrary to his papal predecessor, Leo has not been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2012, he asserted that the media garnered "sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel," per The Times. He even referenced "homosexual lifestyle" and "alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children." So, he likely won't be ruffling any feathers with the Trump administration regarding LGBTQ+ rights.