Pope vs Trump: Catholic Base at Risk

0:00On April 18th, Pope Leo XIV, an American leading the Catholic Church, just ripped into the U.S. strikes on Iran, saying, God ignores prayers, from war mongers, and blasting anyone twisting religion for violence. This hit on Palm Sunday, right as our war there, drags on with spiking gas prices after they shut the straight of Hormuz. Trump clapped back hard, calling the Pope a week on crime, and questioning his whole leadership vibe. Some spin stacking Catholic votes big time, 52% in 2016 and 55% last year against Kamala Harris. But now this feud's got folks twisted, especially conservative Catholics, who dug his tough top but respect the Pope as Christ's rep on Earth. You're hearing pain from big voices like Taylor Marshall, who says it's rough watching your President beef with the Holy Father when you've backed. Trump three times. Historians point out Catholics fueled every big conservative wave here for a century. Yet the Pope's anti-war stance never fully peeled them off Trump.

1:00Before, lately Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped a fake Bible quote from Pope fiction in a Pentagon sermon, framing the fight as holy. VP JD Vance, a fresh Catholic convert, warned the Pope to watch his theology talk, while House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed he misses just war. Basics, the Pope's literally an expert on that from St. Augustine. As the Pope doubles down from Cameroon, quoting Blessed are the peacemakers, and cursing those dragging God into the mess for power grabs, this rifts. Testing Trump's Catholic base hard. With support for the war and him slipping in poles, eyes are on whether it flipped any votes before it all shakes out.