Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West. Nicki Minaj vs. Cardi B. Who would have thought the next celebrity feud would be between the Pope and the current president of the United States, Donald Trump?
According to Reuters this feud began on March 31 with Pope Leo telling journalists that Trump is “looking for an off-ramp” from the Iran war and “a way to decrease the violence.” He also said that the president’s discourse on the people of Iran was “truly unacceptable,” according to CNN. This is one of the few times that the pope has called out a world leader by name.
In the face of these criticisms, on April 12 Trump responded on Truth Social that the pope was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” He also wrote about how he doesn’t want a pope who thinks it’s alright for Iran to have nuclear weapons and is critical of the U.S. invading Venezuela. The Pope has not commented on the presence of nuclear weapons in Iran, according to PBS.
The Pope later said his remarks were not reflective of him wanting to debate the president, according to CNN. However, the Pope explains that he will stand up for his beliefs and those of the Gospel even if it goes against the U.S.
Eric Bloom, a social sciences teacher at Palo Alto High School, believes that the president’s actions are due to feeling threatened.
“The president doesn’t like anybody to question or try to take a moral standing against him,” Bloom said. “So anybody who comes out against the president, he’ll just lash out at.”
Additionally, Bloom believes that the president doesn’t take the importance of the Vatican to people seriously.
“I think he looks at the papacy as being some kind of antiquated institution that doesn’t have any real meaning to people anymore,” Bloom said. “And I think he’s absolutely wrong.”
This conflict started nearly a year after the pope was elected. According to CNN, Pope Leo was announced as the new pope on May 8, 2025. Born Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope to sit on the throne of St. Peter. He is from Chicago but has spent years as a missionary in Peru. Later, he worked at the Vatican to help appoint bishops around the world.
Donald Trump’s first term as president started in 2016, before being reelected in 2024, and was a New York City businessman before going into politics. According to The White House Historical Association, his current administration pledges to focus on immigration policies and tax reform.
While there may not seem to be an overlap between the audiences of these two people, the truth is, around 60% of Catholics voted for Trump in the most recent election, according to CNN. This is because many Catholics believe that the Republican values more closely align with their religious beliefs, according to The Institute on Religion and Public Life. This makes the comments between the president and the pope all the more concerning to those who believe in the platforms that both people represent.
While many supporters of Trump excuse his behavior, Bloom says this altercation could be the tipping point.
“I think people give the president a lot of leeway in the way that he behaves,” Bloom said. “I think a lot of people, at least from what I’ve read, think that going after the pope is sort of a step too far. That he is not political, that he represents an institution that’s hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.”
While this interaction fizzled out after the back-and-forth comments, the impact from it could be lasting, according to Bloom.
“I think there’s not going to be much of a relationship between the Vatican and the United States for a while, because I think Trump is dismissive of the church, and so the church is just going to keep doing what it does and ignore Donald Trump,” Bloom said.