Americano: why has Trump picked a fight with the Pope?
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The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 19 April 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
Donald Trump’s latest clash with the Pope has stunned even the more hardened of America-watchers. According to the President of the United States Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people, is 'WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.' He also claimed that, 'If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.' Is the war in Iran the only reason the Pope and the President have clashed? And what does it tell us about religious relations in the US today?
In a special podcast collaboration, the host of Holy Smoke Damian Thompson and the host of Americano Freddy Gray discuss the dispute.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:27.7 | I have to do what's right. The Pope has to understand that it's very simple. I have nothing |
| 0:33.0 | against the Pope. His brother is MAGA all the way. I like his brother, Lewis. I'm not fighting |
| 0:38.3 | with him. The Pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran |
| 0:43.3 | cannot have a nuclear weapon. |
| 0:45.3 | I would simply say, asking all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, |
| 0:53.3 | to reject war, especially a war, |
| 0:58.0 | which many people have said is an unjust war. |
| 1:01.4 | Welcome back to the Americano show, or should I say a joint Americano show, with the Holy Smoke |
| 1:08.3 | podcast, which is of course produced by our brilliant associate editor, Damien Thompson, who is also our Vatican correspondent, I think we call you as well, then. I think that's absolutely right. It's a rather lovely title, isn't it? And you, of course, do the great Holy Smoke podcast, and so we are going to do this one. Of which this is one. Of which this is one. Yeah. Yeah. In addition to being part of a legendary Americani. |
| 1:30.6 | Exactly. |
| 1:31.1 | Thank you. |
| 1:31.6 | Thank you. |
| 1:32.1 | So we're doing this together because, of course, we are talking about the Pope and Donald |
| 1:36.0 | Trump, because as everybody knows, Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary broadside, |
| 1:41.7 | to use the word that journalists seem to be using, against Pope Leo. |
| 1:47.2 | He went on a very strange rant. |
| 1:49.2 | Damien, do you think it's true that Pope was just watching 60 minutes? |
... |
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