Karoline Leavitt's Take On Pope's Trump-Vance Shade Confirms What Everyone Suspected

After the tragic death of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church chose a new pope behind closed doors. When it was announced on May 8, 2025, that Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, Illinois, was to become the next pope — Pope Leo XIV — it inadvertently brought attention to the current administration of President Donald Trump. Not only did Pope Francis pass away mere hours after meeting Vice President JD Vance, but Trump had begun joking about wanting to be the pope. This escalated further when Trump posted a rather unhinged AI photo of himself as the next pontiff. So, when old posts from Pope Leo on X, formerly Twitter, surfaced that suggested the pope disagrees with Trump and his administration's tendency towards cruelty, it was sure to rattle Trump's insecure ego. Which might explain why White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strategically deflected a question regarding the apparent criticism Pope Leo might have for Trump.

When asked by a reporter regarding the articles the account allegedly attached to Pope Leo reposted throughout the years that were seen as critical of the Trump administration, Leavitt masterfully dodged. For her part, Leavitt only addressed the fact that a new pope has been announced and that Trump "is very proud to have an American pope." Leavitt then admitted some surprise at Pope Leo's choice, which was as shady as she got about it. Considering how both Vance and Trump have been showing off their thin skin and bruised egos, especially surrounding the death of Pope Francis, it makes sense that Leavitt would do her best to keep them out of it. Although the issue might be more than Leavitt can handle.

As much as Karoline Leavitt has made it clear she wants to be able to handle the duties that go into being press secretary, she's had a bit of an uphill battle. Not only has it been hard for Leavitt to find appropriate outfits to wear to work, but having to juggle the egos of both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance has got to be more than a full-time job. Currently, Vance is being embarrassed by new Pope Leo, and this also comes on the heels of it becoming clear that Vance's influence is dwindling.

As much as Leavitt might be trying to dodge questions in the hopes of protecting Catholic convert Vance, Leavitt has also made it clear that she's obsessed with Trump. Which would explain why she wanted to simply smile and move on from a question surrounding any criticism that could be lobbed his way. Trump's ego notoriously slips him up, from needing to be the center of attention to believing he can sway other countries to do his bidding with a post on social media, he's certainly a difficult personality to manage. After Trump sang some most likely false praises of Pope Leo, it makes sense that Leavitt would believe it's time to move on. Or at the very least, she most likely wishes this conversation would simply go away so she can go back to her feud with CNN's Kaitlan Collins.