Pope Leo XIV - Trump & MAGA hate him
How far have the Americans gone to the right if they think a pro-life head of the Catholic Church is a lefty? We are truly through the looking glass.
In a political era where demagogues masquerade as messiahs and Christian crosses are welded to assault rifles, Pope Leo XIV will be a problem, not just for Trump, but for the entire MAGA movement. He's certainly not going to be the kind of pontiff who tiptoes around injustice in the name of diplomacy. It is expected Leo XIV will bring a storm: a storm grounded in Augustinian theology, moral clarity, and even the inconvenient truth of his American roots. And that’s exactly why MAGA hates him already. A prophet in the age of propaganda.
Pope Leo XIV is considered a unity candidate, expected to maintain Pope Francis' commitment to helping migrants and the poor, while holding more conservative views on issues like the ordination of women and a lightening on traditional catholic views on homosexuality. His diverse background and experience in both the United States and Peru contribute to his unique perspective and approach to the papacy. The election of an American pope is a significant development in the Catholic Church, reflecting its global nature and the diverse backgrounds of its leaders. It will be interesting to observe how Pope Leo XIV's leadership influences the direction of the Church in the coming years.
Formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. His election marks a historic milestone as he becomes the first American-born pope and the first from an English-speaking country since the 12th century.
Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV is a member of the Order of Saint Augustine. He spent over two decades as a missionary in Peru, where he served as bishop of Chiclayo and developed deep ties with Latin American communities. Prior to his election, he held key Vatican roles, including Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The 2025 papal conclave convened following the death of Pope Francis on April 21. After four ballots, the College of Cardinals elected Prevost as the 267th pope. He chose the name Leo XIV in homage to Pope Leo XIII, known for his advocacy of workers' rights and social justice. n his first public address from St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV emphasised themes of peace, unity, and solidarity, stating, “Peace be with you all. I would like peace to reach your families, all peoples, the whole earth.”
The election of Pope Leo XIV has been met with widespread acclaim. Leaders from around the world, But have extended their congratulations. In his hometown of Chicago, celebrations have included lighthearted references to local culture, with jokes about deep-dish communion wafers and debates over his baseball team allegiance.
Pope Leo XIV faces significant challenges, including addressing the ongoing clergy abuse crisis, fostering unity within the Church, and navigating complex geopolitical issues. His past comments on LGBTQ+ matters have sparked both concern and hope among various groups, highlighting the delicate balance he must maintain between tradition and progress. With his unique blend of North and South American experiences and a commitment to social justice, Pope Leo XIV is poised to be a transformative figure in the Catholic Church’s future.
But the MAGA trolls are already out calling him out as a Marxist and a Communist.
Imagine a pope whose own ancestry traces back to the working-class neighbourhoods of Chicago: rust-belt America, where factories once roared and unions once mattered. A family of immigrants, Franco-Italian, shaped by the Great Depression, labor movements, and Catholic social teaching. His America isn’t one of golf courses, gated communities, and Wall Street bailouts. His America remembers breadlines, black lung, and the broken promises of capitalism. MAGA call him 'an American traitor', forgetting that he understands the soul of the working class better than a gilded real estate tycoon ever could.
Pope Leo XIV’s roots in St. Augustine’s theology shape his worldview with a moral fire that today’s faux-Christian nationalists can’t comprehend. Augustine saw human nature as flawed, prideful, and desperately in need of grace, not as a branding opportunity for authoritarian ego. If the pope is consistent as an Augustinian, he's not going to just warn of sin in the personal sense, but of systemic sin: empires built on exploitation, leaders addicted to domination, and a society that trades justice for comfort. He’d invoke Augustine’s famous words:
"Without justice, what is a kingdom but a great band of robbers?"
That would hit too close to home for a movement whose leader pardons insurrectionists and profits off fear.
Let’s not mince words: Pope Leo XIV is not going to sit well with Trump. He'll clearly condemn Trumpism as a false gospel. Where Trump worships profit, Leo would preach economic justice. Where MAGA cheers billionaires, Leo would ask why they exist in a world where children go hungry. Expect him to say things like:
“When wealth is hoarded while others suffer, we do not have a blessing, we have a curse.”
He’d draw directly from Catholic social doctrine, invoking solidarity with workers, the dignity of labour, and the preferential option for the poor. And when he did, MAGA will call him a 'communist pope' and flood Facebook with conspiracy theories linking him to George Soros. It has already started.
One of Leo XIV’s fiercest battles would be on immigration. Given his pastoral history he’d call the detention of children, the cruelty at the border, and the rhetoric of ‘invasion’ not just political errors but moral crimes. He’d remind the world that Jesus was a refugee, that the Holy Family fled violence, and that Christian ethics cannot be built on walls. MAGA’s response? More cries of 'open borders' 'papal Marxism' and 'deep church infiltration'.
While tradition-bound in some doctrine, it is likely Pope Leo XIV might embrace a pastoral, open-armed approach to LGBTQ+ Catholics. He’d emphasise dignity, nonviolence, and inclusion, not shame, not excommunication, not cruel indifference. In a world where MAGA uses 'anti-woke' as a catch-all excuse for bigotry, his compassion would be unforgivable. They’d smear him as 'the gay pope' and accuse him of betraying 'traditional values', ramping up Fox News hysteria to the max
It is expected Pope Leo XIV would declare climate denial a sin: a betrayal of God’s creation and a death sentence for the poor. He wouldn’t just support environmental policy; he’d call the fossil fuel industry’s greed an act of generational violence. And Trump’s oil-soaked agenda? A direct contradiction of divine stewardship.
“The earth cries out,” Leo would say. “And those who silence her are the new idolaters.”
You can almost hear it now. MAGA would call him a 'green globalist' accuse him of trying to enslave America to the UN, and Photoshop him next to Greta Thunberg in InfoWars style memes.
Perhaps Leo XIV’s greatest heresy in MAGA’s eyes would be his rejection of Christian nationalism the toxic fusion of cross and flag, of Christ and Caesar. He’d call it what it is: blasphemy.
“You cannot serve both God and empire. To place a nation above the Gospel is to craft a golden calf.”
And that would be the final straw. MAGA doesn’t want religion, it wants vindication. It doesn’t want the Church, it wants a mascot. And Pope Leo XIV would refuse to play the part.
So Pope Leo isn't going to be politically neutral. He isn't going to cower behind vague statements or hide from controversy. He’d speak with Augustinian clarity, rooted in American realism, driven by the uncomfortable truth of the Gospel: that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. And so, Trump is clearly going to hate him. MAGA is clearly going to smear him. The US right-wing media will periodically demand his resignation. But history might see him as the rarest kind of leader: A moral compass in an age of spinelessness. A voice for the voiceless in a time of shouters.
Now I'm not what you would call a religious person, and me and God have what you could say is a bi of a fractured relationship, but even I can clearly see from a country mile off that this Pope is proper going to get up the radical rights nose. He may have had a message of congratulations from Trump, but knowing Trump for what he is and what he stands for it's not going to stay cordial very long. He'll be twitter-smearing the pontiff at 3am before you can say @RealDonaldTrump.
If St John the Evangelist and St Malachy, a C12th Irish Bishop are to be believed then the prophecies are alligning and Pope Leo is Petrus Romanus, (Peter the Roman), the 112th Pope, and that makes Trump a very plausible False Prophet. And at teh same time the death cult of the Evangelical Right are pushing the Israelis to get the Third Temple built. Oh what times we live in.
A pope who didn’t ask permission to be prophetic.
Pope Leo XIV isn't exactly going to be 'radical'. He will simply simply be Christian in the humanist Augustinian tradition. And that, in the world Trump built, would be the most radical thing of all.
And of course Trump will hate him for it.
