Many Americans have the impression that everything else that happens in the world is really about them, including the election of a new pope.
Donald Trump has a similar problem of always thinking everything is about him.
In a Truth Social post over the weekend, the president seemed to claim credit for the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first-ever American pope. Or at least, he argued with the notion, put forth by a disfavored reporter, that he had nothing to do with the choice.
“So funny to watch old timer Martha Raditz on ABC Fake News (the Slopadopolus show!) this morning blurt out that, effectively, Pope Leo’s selection had nothing to do with Donald Trump. It came out of nowhere, but it was on her Trump Deranged Mind,” the president said on Truth Social. “Remember, I did WIN the Catholic Vote by a lot! Bob Iger should do something about the losers and haters he’s got on his low-rated shows. It’s time for change. MAGA!!!”
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It’s a bizarre suggestion, even by Trump standards.
According to the National Catholic Reporter, exit polls indicate that Trump won about 53 percent of the Catholic vote in 2024, which is three percentage points better than he did in 2020 and one point better than in 2016. Demographic breakdowns of exit poll data, however, are inexact and not in any way “official.”
But it’s unclear what that has to do with the conclave in the Vatican, which has little to nothing to do with the attitudes of Catholic voters in the United States.
According to The Independent, the new pope’s first press conference included several statements, including a call for an end to “loud, forceful communication.”
“Let us free it from aggression,” Pope Leo said in the press conference. “We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather a communication that is capable of listening and gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice.”
This could be interpreted as a shot at Trump, but then that’s also the case with most generic appeals to decency and comity.
The papacy is a lifetime position, so Pope Leo XIV, who is 69 years old, is virtually certain to serve beyond Trump’s time in office and likely in the terms of multiple future presidents as well. Five U.S. presidents served during Pope John Paul II’s papacy, while Pope Francis served during the presidents of Barack Obama, Trump, Joe Biden, and Trump again.
Photo courtesy of YouTube screengrab.
