rump lambasts Pope Leo XIV, extending feud over Iran war with first merican pontiff

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flirtmcdudes@reddit

it’s just funny to me how he always handles things the worst way possible, and yet so many different people enable and defend him. I’ve never seen someone so incompetent fail upwards this much

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It's cos he represents different things to different people. There's also a contingent of people for whom he's a tool, unlike what all the 'they're all a cult' rhetoric would suggest i.e. these folk don't necessarily adore him so much as see him as a conduit to achieving their goals. So he's very lucky, in many ways.

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flirtmcdudes@reddit

It takes an insane level of stupidity though to not see him for who he truly is after all these years. Back in 2016? I 100% get why he won, but now? Just wild he still has any followers

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BendicantMias@reddit (OP)

Well, like I said, for at least some of them they don't have illusions about him - he's just useful to them. Like for some of the christian nationalists they probably don't see him as a good christian, but that doesn't matter cos he's helped embed christian nationalism into the nations' institutions. Or even consider the most delulu folk - the Rapture fanatics. They might not really care what his motives are for going to war with Iran, all that matters is that he helps promote Israel and that fits into their prophecies of the End Times. Etc.

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BendicantMias@reddit (OP)

President Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, saying he didn’t think the U.S.-born global leader of the Catholic Church is “doing a very good job” and that “he’s a very liberal person,” while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

Later, Trump posted a picture suggesting he had saint-like powers akin to those of Jesus Christ. Wearing a biblical-style robe, Trump is seen laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers, while a soldier, a nurse, a praying woman and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on admiringly. The sky above is filled with eagles, an American flag and vaporous images.

The president wrote, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States.”

“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” Trump added, referencing his 2024 election victory.

He also suggested in the post that Leo only got his position “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote, adding, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”

In his subsequent comments to reporters, Trump remained highly critical, saying of Leo, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess” and adding, “He’s a very liberal person.”

In the 2024 election, Trump won 55% of Catholic voters, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. But Trump’s administration also has close ties to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders and has claimed heavenly endorsement for the war on Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ.” And, when Trump was asked whether he thought God approved of the war, he said, “I do, because God is good — because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”

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imunfair@reddit

He also suggested in the post that Leo only got his position “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

To be fair this isn't an idea that Trump came up with, I've heard it before and wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Catholicism is a big business at the end of the day, and electing an American pope this time around was just good business sense.

That said, it's amusing that Trump is now unhappy with the pope he may have had a hand in getting into the seat. And as far as I can tell Leo seems like a pretty decent guy, I don't think anything he's said about Trump's behavior is wrong or radical. I'd question the mindset of any so-called conservative who didn't have any reservations about Trump's actions, because that's cult-like dedication, and I say that as a fairly conservative person.

I think objectively he's made some huge geopolitical mistakes, and I'd expect any genuinely religious Christian to have some significant problems with his recent actions in other countries. Despite what Hegseth things, god is a set of moral standards, not a lucky charm that you rub and whisper your wishes to.

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Irr3sponsibl3@reddit

Some people were speculating Leo was a CIA asset in the beginning

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ThevaramAcolytus@reddit

That said, it's amusing that Trump is now unhappy with the pope he may have had a hand in getting into the seat.

We've seen this guy turn on practically everyone but Ivanka at this point - in the government or outside of it, American or foreign, male or female, young or old, across political lines.

It's more the continuation of a ceaseless pattern.

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