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Pope Leo and President Trump Clash Over Iran War

Apr 19, 2026Center Left

President Donald Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XIV after his criticism of the war in Iran and the tangling of church and state shows the key voting block of American Catholics is slipping for Trump. NBC’s Raf Sanchez reports in this week’s Sunday Focus.

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JD Vance ‘grateful’ to Pope Leo for easing tensions amid feud with Trump over Iran war: ‘He will be in our prayers’

New York Post

Apr 19, 2026

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JD Vance ‘grateful’ to Pope Leo for easing tensions amid feud with Trump over Iran war: ‘He will be in our prayers’

Vance's olive branch came after the first US pontiff weighed in on his public spat with Trump earlier in the day.

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Republican senator criticizes Trump’s ‘holy war’ with Pope Leo

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Apr 18, 2026

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Republican senator criticizes Trump’s ‘holy war’ with Pope Leo

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a long supporter of Trump, says president’s feud with the pope is a ‘distraction’A Republican lawmaker has condemned what he refers to as Donald Trump’s “holy war” against Pope Leo XIV.Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a long supporter of Trump and the ultraconservative Maga movement, condemned the president’s attacks on…

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Trump voters say the pope should 'stay in his lane' and butt out of the Iran war

NBC News

Apr 18, 2026

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Trump voters say the pope should 'stay in his lane' and butt out of the Iran war

Trump's supporters in Nevada and Arizona believe that Pope Leo XIV is in the wrong, not the president, in their spat over the Iran war.

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The Hill

Apr 18, 2026

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Trump to join public Bible reading as Pope Leo clash simmers

President Trump on Friday announced that he will attend a marathon reading of the Bible amid his feud with Pope Leo XIV. The group Christians Engaged listed Trump one of many participants in the “America Reads the Bible” event, which starts Saturday evening and runs for a week. The president said in a statement that…

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How the dispute between Trump and Pope Leo escalated

CBS News

Apr 18, 2026

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How the dispute between Trump and Pope Leo escalated

President Trump has lobbed insults at Pope Leo XIV in response to his criticisms of the war in Iran, marking an unusually pronounced rupture between the leaders of the world's most powerful country and the world's largest Christian denomination.

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