“I have a lot of respect for him. I would meet him, but I don’t have anything planned,” Trump said, before steering the conversation in a more familiar direction. “I like his brother a lot. He’s a great MAGA guy.”
(ZENIT News / Washington, 07.18.2025).- President Donald Trump has weighed in with his own peculiar brand of diplomacy. Speaking to reporters en route to a summit on energy and innovation in Pennsylvania on July 15, the former president expressed admiration for Pope Leo XIV — while simultaneously making it clear he doesn’t intend to meet him anytime soon.
“I have a lot of respect for him. I would meet him, but I don’t have anything planned,” Trump said, before steering the conversation in a more familiar direction. “I like his brother a lot. He’s a great MAGA guy.”
It’s not the first time Trump has drawn a connection between himself and Louis Prevost, the pope’s brother. In past campaign stops and interviews, the former president has repeatedly praised Louis, describing him as “MAGA through and through,” a reference to Trump’s long-standing political slogan “Make America Great Again.” According to Trump, Louis proudly displays pro-Trump paraphernalia throughout his home — a detail he’s mentioned more than once with visible satisfaction.
The pope himself, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, has maintained a reserved silence regarding American political figures, including Trump, since his election two months ago. Though Leo XIV’s nationality has drawn intense attention in the United States, especially among Catholic voters, he has offered few public statements directly referencing American politics or the administration in Washington.
Still, the Vatican has not been absent from American affairs. The new pope received an invitation to the White House earlier this year, delivered personally by Vice President JD Vance during the inaugural Mass of Leo XIV’s pontificate in May. No date has been confirmed for a potential papal visit to the United States, nor has the Vatican commented on whether Leo XIV intends to travel there in the near future.
The possibility of a face-to-face meeting between Trump and the pope is, for now, remote. And it may remain so — not just for scheduling reasons, but because of the stark contrast between the two public figures. Pope Leo XIV, a former missionary in Latin America and advocate for ecclesial reform, has focused his early pontificate on healing divisions within the Church, encouraging a more synodal governance model, and promoting simplicity in papal life.
The irony of Trump speaking more about the pope’s brother than about the pope himself hasn’t gone unnoticed among observers in Rome and Washington alike. But for now, the American president’s assessment of Leo XIV remains filtered through the lens of domestic allegiances. “If he’s anything like his brother,” Trump added with a smile, “I think we’ll get along just fine.”
Whether Pope Leo XIV shares the sentiment — or even intends to respond — remains to be seen.
