President Donald Trump’s war of words with Pope Leo XIV and his subsequent posting of an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ have sparked a rift among Republicans in the Senate just when the GOP needs to circle the wagons for the midterms.
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is Catholic, criticized the president’s attack on the leader of her faith, wherein Trump called the pope “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy in a lengthy Truth Social screed that he reaffirmed in comments to reporters.
“I found the president's comments to be offensive and inexplicable,” Collins told The Independent. “He should not be treating the pope as a political rival.”
Collins is by far the most vulnerable Republican running for reelection in November and she is the only incumbent GOP senator running in a state that Kamala Harris won. She also voted to convict Trump for his actions on January 6. But she’s taken a more conservative tack in Trump’s second term.
By contrast, Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, who is also Catholic, defended Trump — and instead lambasted the Pope.
“I was incensed to watch the Pope's comments,” Moreno told The Independent. “I think what the Pope is doing is a disgrace.”
Trump’s words about the Pope came after Leo criticized Trump’s war in Iran. Moreno said Leo should have criticized the Iranian regime that had killed its own citizens rather than the president.
“It's a shame that the Pope has made the Catholic Church political,” Moreno said. “Thank God my mom’s not alive to watch that.”
Moreno’s words mirror those of his fellow Ohioan and political ally Vice President J.D. Vance, who, despite writing a book about his conversion to Catholicism, said on Fox News: “it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.”
Trump also received criticism from some Christian conservatives including Riley Gaines, the former college swimmer who has become an ardent opponent of transgender athletes in women’s sports, and a poster girl for his stance on the subject, who critiqued: “God shall not be mocked.”
Conservative commentator Cam Higby said on X, “Blasphemy from the Oval Office is not a funny troll” and called on Trump to “correct it and move on.”
The president subsequently told CBS News, “I’m not a big fan of Riley, actually,” and insisted that he thought the AI image iof him was epicting him as a doctor, not the son of Man.
Some Republicans responded by avoiding the question altogether.
“Why don’t you ask me a question about E-15, that’s what I want to get passed,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa told The Independent in reference to the sale of gas that is 15 percent ethanol.
Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska said she did not follow what the president said.
“I'm a senior member of armed services, and that's what I’m focused on,” she told The Independent when pressed.
The Catholic Church has occasionally clashed with the Trump administration, despite the church sharing the Republican Party’s opposition to abortion, specifically on the issue of immigration, given the large number of Hispanic Catholics and undocumented parishoners in the United States.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune dodged when asked about Trump’s posting an image of himself as Christ.
“I don’t have any observation on that,” Thune told The Independent. “My observation is it’s been taken down.”
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