POTUS Trump’s ugly and open social media conflict with Pope Leo XIV is a new chapter in the information war that shows some deep sectarian cracks in the American pro-war consensus.
The Pope vs. the Donald
Last week, we re-posted John Helmer’s “The Pope and the US Bishops Are Threatening the Catholic Vote for Trump and His Successors” which summarized the sectarian conflict between Trump ad Pope Leo as of Friday.
The main thing from that piece I want to remind readers of is the impact on Trump’s polling, via Newsweek:
Among Catholic voters, 48 percent said they approve of Trump’s job performance, while 52 percent disapprove, a net negative of 4 points.
Just weeks earlier, Catholics had leaned the other way.
In the prior Fox News poll, conducted February 28 through March 2, 2026, Trump held a narrow edge with Catholics.
In that survey, 52 percent approved and 48 percent disapproved, giving him a net positive rating of 4 points.
Yves covered the Pope’s Sunday comments in this morning’s Iran War roundup. TL;DR version:
“I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” Leo said. “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.
“Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
Holy Thirty Years War, sectarian man!
Trump’s Sunday night sectarian Truth Social screed in response is remarkable:
Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. 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 and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And 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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church 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. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP
This, naturally drew a response from the Iranian president:
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I wish you glory by Allah.
— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 13, 2026
It also got this comeback from Catholic Arena, an X.com account with 135,000 followers. This tweet got almost 500,000 views (and a few accusations of anti-semitism):
‘The pope is weak on foreign policy’ https://t.co/5nDHx6CW3A pic.twitter.com/DzMLpMA9AE
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) April 13, 2026
Blasphemer-In-Chief
Trump’s not content with insulting the Pope, he’s also expanded the sectarian conflict into outright heresy:
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) April 13, 2026
At least one prominent evangelical was put off and called out Trump in a post that got over 1.7 million views on X.com:
I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy. But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and… https://t.co/scsXaj6Rey
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) April 13, 2026
Outraging people who should be sectarian allies is never smart strategy.
Trump’s Truth social following didn’t like it much either.
— Nat Wilson Turner (@natwilsonturner) April 14, 2026
Trump later deleted the post and offered an oh so convincing explanation when asked about it:
Reporter: Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ?
Trump: It wasn’t a depiction. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor. And had to do with red cross as a red cross worker, which we support and only the fake news could come up with that one. pic.twitter.com/7Y1u86GjkP
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026
Hours later Trump supporters were singing from the same hymnal (note who posted this roundup, she’s our next main character)
It appears they all got their talking points to defend the blasphemer in the Oval Office today. @GrahamAllen @DavidJHarrisJr @conservmillen pic.twitter.com/jFs3XCbCat
— Carrie Prejean Boller (@CarriePrejean1) April 13, 2026
Trump’s Religious Freedom Commission
This sectarian conflict has been spilling out into public since February when Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick booted Catholic activist Carrie Prejean Boller off of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.
I covered this sectarian scrap for Ian Welsh at the time:
POTUS Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission is tearing itself apart in a fight about zionism.
The leading dissident, Carrie Prejean Boller, the 2009 Miss California USA is a right-wing Catholic who picked a fight with zionists at a meeting of the Commission.
Boller’s quotes to The Atlantic were notable:
“It is not a biblical mandate that I have to worship Israel,” Carrie Prejean Boller told me today. The former Miss California USA turned social-media influencer was dismissed from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission yesterday after drawing charges of anti-Semitism. But, she wanted to make clear, she regrets nothing—and has no intention of disappearing without a fight.
Boller’s conflicts with Trump and his zionist allies brought Tucker Carlson and Bishop Joseph Strickland into the fray.
It should be noted that Pope Francis removed Strickland from his post in Tyler, Texas in 2023, in case anyone is thinking Trump is in conflict solely with the liberal wing of the church.
Carlson introduced the conversation and summed up the conflict between Boller and Patrick as such:
A woman called Carrie Peen Bowler who was a member of the president’s Religious Liberty Task Force. She was expelled from it, from my reading, for two reasons. One she called attention to the deaths of innocents in Gaza and made the point that their lives were as valuable as anyone else’s. And two, she refused the basic tenants of zionism, political Zionism and said that she didn’t have to sign up for that as a Christian and she was expelled for that.
Strickland then explained what brought him into the fray on Boller’s side and went on to elaborate on his view of Gaza and the information war around it:
Carrie was rejected primarily because they didn’t want her to speak that truth. They tried to silence her and ultimately it backfires. When someone is speaking truth trying to oppose it does backfire.
…
Truth prevails. Truth continues because of the essence of what it is. It is truth. And we see that over and over again when truth is being proclaimed and whatever powers of the world try to squelch that truth, try to silence it.Carrie was removed as one voice echoing the truth that is Jesus Christ. She was removed because of that. And look what’s happened. Her voice has grown. I had no idea who Carrie Prejeen Bowler was before she got removed. And then I end up making a statement about her. That is a beautiful example of what we all need to remember for ourselves in our personal journey against sin and death. And in the global journey, we need to remember if it’s the truth, it will come out and it will prevail.
And it’s not just arch-conservative Catholics who are challenging Trump and his pro-zionist narratives.
ShoeOnHead vs Dispensationalists
June Nicole Lapine, the popular vlogger who calls herself Shoe on Head dropped a video around the same time calling out “The American Doomsday Cult Pushing For War.” It racked up 1 million views on YouTube.
Lapine opens her talk with Trump’s stated reason for attacking Iran:
Well, a few weeks ago, our government had a “that’s so raven” premonition. They had a vision and they saw into the future. They saw that Iran was going to attack Israel. So, we went ahead and attacked Iran. Now, we’re in some war. No, I am not joking. That’s basically what happened. Despite the Pentagon saying there was no proof Iran was going to attack, it came to us in a dream. Source: We made it the up.
Then she goes into a fairly competent explanation of Dispensationalism and its massive influence on American decision makers.
There are people in our government right now who believe in a biblical prophecy about Israel. Pete Hegseth, Lindsey Graham, Mike Pompeo, Ted Cruz, Mike Johnson, Mike Huckabee, and many, many others believe a massive war surrounding the Middle East will bring Jesus Christ back.
They want this. To them, this is the good ending. We’ll all be saved. Great. Awesome. Unfortunately, many Americans and many people all around the world will die in a giant nuclear war. Not great, bad, even.
This particular religion is called Dispensationalism. A type of evangelical Christianity that became popular in the 20th century. That’s right. Today, we are talking about the EQ, the evangelical question.
Evangelicals are one of the largest religious groups in America and they are a huge important voter block. Important detail to remember.
What you have to understand is evangelical Christianity is absolutely obsessed with the end times. This isn’t just like an off-hand thing that’s mentioned in the Bible and they bring up sometimes. No, this is like their whole thing. It’s like all their talks, their sermons, their books. Basically, they are extremely horny for the end of the world. And many of those people are in the president’s ear right now.
She even gets into the history of the sect and acknowledges her own sectarian position:
What do these people mean by biblical mandate? Well, thanks to the Scofield Bible, a version of the Bible that placed little notes next to everything that explained the Biblical text, evangelicals believe it is their duty to protect Israel.
You’re probably thinking like, okay, so what? Like, we have overlapping interests with Israel. Who cares if these evangelicals want to protect Israel, right?
Well, there’s a little more to it. Basically, the evangelical dispensationalist belief goes like this.
Step one, the Jewish people return to the land of Israel. Step two, Israel becomes the main character in a massive war. Step three, global destruction called the tribulation occurs. Step four, Armageddon happens. And step five, Jesus Christ returns.
Behold the fruits of Martin Luther. To get my biases out of the way a little bit, I was born and raised Catholic. Baptized, communion, confirmation, catechism class for years, all that stuff.
I stopped caring for a while. I had like a edgy atheist stage as a teenager. Then I was agnostic for a while. And then in 2020 when I moved back home during COVID, I returned to Catholicism.
Needless to say, I am comfortable with identifying as Catholic again today. I don’t talk about this because it’s not relevant, but it’s relevant here.
I have many Protestant friends. A few are evangelical. This isn’t to like hate on them, even though I’m going to be making jokes, but it’s just to shine a light on a heavy bias some people in power may have towards the Middle East. If a bunch of Catholics were in power pushing for us to go to war for the Vatican or something, that would also be a conversation worth having, but that is not happening right now.
And if you’re wondering why Ted Cruz suddenly out of nowhere is sharing like 10,000 word AI slop Twitter essays about how Catholics are parasites, it’s because he’s butt hurt that Catholics don’t believe in the same doomsday prophecy about Israel as him and other evangelicals do. Catholics are not religiously obligated to support Israel. Same with Orthodox. And honestly, most branches of Christianity.
Evangelical Protestants, on the other hand, don’t know how to read and think the modern state of Israel is the same Israel mentioned in the Bible.
This would be like the fry cook at McDonald’s being named Jesus and you falling to your knees and worshiping him as a savior and then blowing up the world for him.
But it’s not just alt media YouTubers getting in on the sectarian action.
MSM Raising Sectarian Warning Flags Too
Canada’s ultra-mainstream Globe and Mail had an op-ed over the weekend about Secretary of Defeat Hegseth.
The piece opens with some background on Hegseth’s “spiritual advisor” Doug Wilson of the Association of Classical Christian Schools and then gets into Wilson’s relationship with, and influence over Hegseth and has some juicy deets on Hegseth’s personal history and sectarian ways:
At this monthly Pentagon prayer meeting, standing next to Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hegseth made an admission: “We are all fallen,” he said, his left hand resting on Mr. Wilson’s shoulder. “We are all sinful, we are all in need of the grace of God, and all in need of redemption. I certainly stand chief among them.”
For those who knew Mr. Hegseth’s history, it was a surprisingly candid admission of the sybaritic life he’d led until his stark religious awakening some time in 2018. The litany of Mr. Hegseth’s transgressions was long and sordid. His own mother, in a 2018 e-mail, had called him an “abuser of women”; in 2017, he was accused by a woman of raping her while she was drunk; in 2016 he was forced to quit his job as CEO at a Republican-funded non-profit after a whistle-blower accused him alcoholism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia and financial mismanagement. But by 2021, he was a soldier of God whose upper body was covered in tattoos depicting Crusader iconography, including the Jerusalem Cross and the Latin words “Deus Vult” – God wills it – the rallying cry used by Christian Knights during the First Crusades.
Mr. Hegseth’s religious transformation and its connections to Mr. Wilson’s Reformed Evangelical movement raise some unsettling questions for people well beyond that flock.
…
Mr. Hegseth, it seems, has found his truest voice inside Mr. Wilson’s unapologetically martial and masculine movement.Striving for a more chauvinist America has apparently become the holiest of callings for him, with very real consequences for the U.S. war in Iran. If this is holy war – if, as his tattoo says, “God wills it” – then why would the rules of war matter? If you are fighting on the side of God, you “fight to win,” and the rules of engagement are, as Mr. Hegseth put it, “stupid.”
It’s not clear if Crusader logic will continue to guide the Trump administration’s Iran policy, or even how long Mr. Hegseth’s holy war goes on after this week’s announcement of a ceasefire. But the radical Christian ideology that underpins it isn’t going away.
And as Col. Lawrence Wilkerson warned over the weekend, Hegseth has big plans and big goals:
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Hegseth is preacher packing (that’s an) old southern term. You put the good strawberries on the top and the rotten ones on the bottom.
He’s preacher packing the military in all ranks. He’s getting Christian nationalists everywhere he can in the rank structure so that when time comes for the military to make a decision one way or the other with regard to the elections or whatever, he’ll have at least a sizable contingent in the military that’ll take his side.
Glenn Diesen: Is that the reason behind the all the 50:37 purge, the firing of the general? You see this as being uh building a Trump loyal army?
Wilkerson: Absolutely. The way he’s recruiting the states he’s recruiting from the Christian nationalist counties he’s recruiting from the evangelical base he’s recruiting from the conversions at the end of advanced individual training in the army for example they go to the river and baptize 60 or 70 recruits in the name of Jesus and God. You can’t make this stuff up
So, yea, things are getting crazy and there are specific crazy people with specific crazy sectarian beliefs pushing things in that direction.
And some other people, with different, if maybe equally crazy, sectarian beliefs are rising up to resist.
Stay tuned.
