A growing dispute between US President Donald Trump and Pope Leo is drawing sharp reactions across Africa, where many Catholics say the clash—intensified by Trump’s recent Jesus-themed post—has crossed a line.
The backlash comes amid a broader history of strained ties between Trump and the continent, including past remarks about African nations and cuts to US foreign assistance. For many, the latest episode reinforces concerns about his stance toward both Africa and the Catholic Church.
“I was utterly shocked,” Blaise Bebey Abong, a diplomat in Yaound, where Pope Leo arrived this week during a multi-country African tour, told Reuters. He described Trump’s criticism of the papacy as unusually harsh, saying such rhetoric toward a widely respected moral institution was “unthinkable.”
Tensions have been building since late March, when Pope Leo — the first US-born leader of the Catholic Church — began speaking out against the Iran conflict following US-Israeli strikes. His stance has put him at odds with Trump, who has responded with increasingly pointed criticism.
Over the weekend, Trump took to Truth Social to attack the pope’s positions, calling him “weak” on crime and ineffective on foreign policy. Around the same time, Trump shared an AI-generated image portraying himself in a Jesus-like form, prompting widespread backlash, including from some religious conservatives. The post was later deleted, but not before fuelling further outrage.
For many African Catholics, the combination of political attacks and religious symbolism has been particularly troubling. Abong said the pope’s moral authority extends beyond Christianity, warning that the dispute risks damaging Trump’s image across the region—even among some of his previous supporters.
Despite the criticism, the standoff shows no signs of easing. Pope Leo has said he will continue speaking out against the war, while Trump has maintained his attacks. Speaking during a flight from Algeria to Cameroon, the pope declined to respond directly, instead urging respect among nations and peoples.
The dispute underscores how a personal war of words between Donald Trump and Pope Leo is evolving into a broader flashpoint—shaping perceptions of US leadership, straining ties with religious communities, and reverberating across regions far beyond American borders.
With inputs from Reuters
