The recent feud with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war has created a complex political landscape for Donald Trump at home. For the first time, a sitting US President is in a direct rhetorical war with a US-born Pope. Whether it would ‘hurt’ Trump’s party depends on two things: moral fatigue among Catholics and nationalist resolve among his base.
Allies of Donald Trump are sounding the alarm after the President launched a public feud with Pope Leo XIV. The pontiff has been a vocal opponent of the administration’s stance on the Iran war, Venezuelan intervention, and domestic immigration crackdowns. This diplomatic friction threatens to alienate key blocks of religious voters, potentially jeopardising the GOP’s path to victory in the crucial November midterms.
A recent April 2026 poll shows Catholic approval for Trump has dropped to 48 per cent, down from the 55 per cent he secured in the 2024 election.
Though 74 per cent of Catholics are concerned about nuclear Iran, 60 per cent currently disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war.
The most immediate effect for Trump lies in the potential alienation of Catholic voters in key, crucial swing states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Even a 2–3% shift away from the GOP in these states could flip control of the House or Senate.
Unlike previous popes, Leo XIV is seen by many American Catholics as “one of their own”. Trump’s direct attacks- calling the Pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” may be perceived as a lack of respect for the office and may hurt him.
“There’s nothing to apologise for,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
After the feud, Trump then posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as a figure like Jesus Christ, which he later deleted. He insisted on Monday that he believed the image showed him as a doctor.
Trump has long reached out to the US’s evangelical Christians with his conservative views. They backed him in his election in 2016 and 2024 despite a series of scandals and an ambiguous personal relationship with religion.
Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic convert, has defended Trump, stating that the Vatican should stick to “matters of morality” while the President dictates “American public policy.”
