President Trump reignites feud with Pope over Iran nuclear issue
President Trump criticized Pope Leo over Iran’s nuclear arsenal as the Vatican prepares for Marco Rubio’s visit amid rising tensions in the US Vatican.
- A recent poll found that most Americans disapprove of President Trump’s comments and posts about religion.
- Nearly 9 in 10 Americans had a negative reaction to the AI-generated image of Trump as a Jesus Christ-like figure.
- The poll also found that a majority of Americans disapprove of President Trump’s posts about the Iran conflict.
- Pope Leo XIV holds an online favorability rating of 25 points among Americans, according to a poll.
A recent poll shows that most Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s religious-related comments about Pope Leo
Nearly nine in 10 Americans (87%) have a negative reaction to images of President Trump posted on Truth Social, including 69% with a strong negative reaction, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll.
The latest results from a wide-ranging poll conducted April 24-28 on President Trump’s handling of the Iran war, the economy and the cost of living come as the president stokes misgivings about the pope, days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to make a high-stakes visit to the Vatican.
An image posted on April 12 showed President Trump wearing a white and red robe with his hand on a sick person’s forehead and a light emanating from his other hand, with the American flag flying and an American eagle in the background, which many interpreted as a Christ-like or messianic depiction.
The post sparked widespread backlash from some in President Trump, as well as accusations of blasphemy. The post was deleted from the President’s Truth social account on April 13th.
“I thought it was me as a doctor. And I had ties to the Red Cross,” President Trump told reporters at the White House on April 13. “And only fake news would come up with something like that…I’m making people so much better.”
According to the poll, 80% of people who voted for Trump and 79% of Republicans surveyed responded negatively to Trump’s posts.
Just before posting the controversial image, the president posted a lengthy message on Truth Social criticizing the pope, who has been critical of the Iran war, calling him “weak on crime and weak on nuclear weapons.” In response, the Pope said, “I am not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loud the message of the Gospel.”
Trump also reshared an AI-generated image of himself being hugged by Jesus on April 15. The post depicted President Trump glowing like an angel, with American flags surrounding him and the AI Jesus.
In an April 15 post, President Trump wrote, “The lunatics on the radical left may not like it, but I think this is a very good thing!!! President DJT,” with the caption:
Americans react negatively to President Trump’s controversial Iran post
The Washington Post ABC-Ipsos poll also noted that a majority of Americans had a negative reaction to another controversial Truth Social post on April 7 about the Iran war that drew widespread condemnation.
A poll found that 76% of Americans disagree with a post by President Trump threatening that unless Iran makes a deal with the United States, which appears to have threatened to use nuclear weapons, “the entire civilization will perish tonight, never to rise again.”
An additional 53% of Americans “strongly” disagreed with the post, which also sparked widespread scrutiny and debate from politicians, theologians, and other experts who study ethics and war.
Most Catholics (75%) and Protestants (70%) surveyed also responded negatively to Trump’s posts, along with non-Christians (72%).
Additionally, 69% of Americans disapprove of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s prayer for the U.S. military to inflict “overwhelming acts of violence against people who do not deserve mercy,” the poll found.
Opinion poll finds Pope favorably among Americans
A Washington Post ABC Ipsos poll found that many Americans support the Pope. According to a public opinion poll, the online favorability rating for Pope Leo among all Americans was 25 points, with 41% saying it was favorable, 16% saying it was unfavorable, and 43% saying they had no opinion about him.
The poll also pointed out that while 66% of Americans responded positively to Pope Leo’s April 7 call for Americans to work for peace and contact Congress to reject war, 57% responded negatively to President Trump’s Truth Social post that read, “We don’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons.”
Among Catholic Americans, 70% responded positively to Pope Leo’s call for Americans to contact Congress, while 61% responded negatively to President Trump’s posts about the pope and nuclear weapons.
Overall, favorability ratings for the pope rose to 61% among Catholic Americans, who saw the feud as the most controversial relationship between a secular leader and the papacy dating back to the Middle Ages, the poll said. Only 14% of people disapprove of the Pope, and 25% of Catholics surveyed have no opinion.
Meanwhile, according to opinion polls, President Trump’s approval rating has fallen from 45% in February 2025 to 37%.
