President Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV has only become more acerbic since the commander-in-chief posted an AI-generated image of himself last week.

The image depicted Trump dressed as a Christ-like healer laying hands on an infirm individual’s forehead as light radiated from his fingers. The image was deleted after public outrage, but its message was apparent: Trump perceives himself as the almighty savior.

When confronted, Trump disingenuously retorted the image represented him “as a physician.” It would appear that when it comes to insulting people’s intelligence, Trump is capable of taking things to an entirely new level.

Trumpeting messages of peace has been par for the course with Pope Leo and his predecessors. He has denounced the Iran conflict from the outset and challenged Trump with a level of frequency and forcefulness few other political leaders have managed. Although he emphasized peace and unification when he first assumed his role as pontiff, Pope Leo has refused to refrain from being outspoken, leading to criticism from some religious figures who back Trump.

Franklin Graham, son of the late renowned evangelist Billy Graham, posted on social media, “I don’t support war, but I do believe, at times, there is justification when you’re fighting evil.” Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins was more direct: “The Pope needs a history lesson.”

Graham was just making pathetic excuses for Trump, while Perkins was telling the pope, of all people, that he needs to educate himself on the history of the Catholic Church. Such comments are not only the height of intellectual dishonesty, they are also morally abhorrent. Such hypocrisy should not come as much of a surprise given this is the same Tony Perkins who has overlooked Trump’s despicable behavior countless times while viciously deriding and denouncing Bill Clinton for similarly transgresses. Such disturbing double standards are not lost on anyone with a sense of fairness and equality.

For Trump, offending Catholic voters is probably not in his best interests. Research indicates they are the largest group of religious swing voters in the U.S.. Catholics heavily cast their votes for Joe Biden in 2020, but in 2024, Trump won them over by double digits. This was no doubt the reason he was able to return to the White House for a second term.

Trump does not have be concerned about running again — assuming he does not try to subvert the constitution and attempt to secure a third term. However, Vice President JD Vance is a recent convert to Catholicism and may find it increasingly difficult to secure the Catholic vote if he decides to run for president.

Trump’s attacks on the pope have strengthened long-held historical assumptions that the Vatican is a menacing force eager to usurp American power. Indeed, modern history demonstrates many post-World War II presidents have had tense encounters with various popes. John F. Kennedy went to great lengths to assuage fears that he would be the Vatican’s political puppet when he ran for president in 1960. Richard Nixon engaged in tense conversations with Pope John Paul VI about the Vietnam War. Pope John Paul II made it clear to President George Bush Jr about his displeasure with and opposition to the 2003 Iraq war. Additionally, Pope Francis took Joseph Biden to task for his less-than-definitive position on the abortion issue.

Such disagreements were largely rooted in political policy rather than theological issues. No American president has ever responded to a pope with personal attacks and blatant lies as Trump has.

Pope Leo has responded to Trump’s tirade with dignity and composure. He told reporters aboard the papal plane he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and planned to continue to criticize the war. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said during his four-country tour of Africa. “It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”

To this, I say, “Amen!”

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Copyright 2026 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.