Trump’s MAGA world predicts friction between Pope and the president

Mr Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon says Pope Leo’s election is ‘jaw-dropping’

Key figures from Donald Trump’s MAGA movement have decried the appointment of the first American Pope.

Not much is known about Pope Leo’s political alliances, though he has been openly critical of the Trump government’s anti-immigration stance.

In the run-up to his election on Thursday as the 267th pope, the then-cardinal Robert Prevost criticised US vice president JD Vance on his social media platform on X, formerly Twitter.

Leo shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Mr Trump has so far only said that Leo's election was a "great honour" for the US. However, some of the president’s most vocal supporters have been critical towards the new pontiff and quick to attack him.

Pope Leo replaced the late Pope Francis after a Conclave vote on Thursday (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon said Leo’s election was “jaw-dropping”.

"It is shocking to me that a guy could be selected to be the Pope that had had the Twitter feed and the statements he's had against American senior politicians," Mr Bannon said.

The practising Catholic predicted there's "definitely going to be friction" between the new pontiff and the US president.

Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who reportedly has the US president’s ear, described the new Pope as "anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis".

However, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said on Friday he thought Leo would seek to build bridges with all world leaders, including Mr Trump.

Steve Bannon predicted there's ‘definitely going to be friction’ between Leo and Trump (Getty)

The new pope shares some policy similarities with the Mr Trump team. He opposes abortion, as does Trump and Vance.

But he supports work to combat climate change, according to a post urging followers to sign a Catholic climate petition. Mr Trump removed the US from the Paris climate accord that fights global warming.