President Donald Trump has taken a pivot to blasphemy. He went after Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social, saying that, by criticizing the joint US-Israeli war on Iran, he is apparently “catering to the Radical Left,” “hurting the Catholic Church,” and encouraging Iran to develop nuclear weapons. “I am not a fan of Pope Leo,” Trump later told reporters. It’s his most aggressive and direct attack yet on the Vicar of Christ, who has been uncharacteristically vocal this year in his criticism of militaristic foreign policy, including making a direct appeal to the president to end the conflict in Iran and promote peace and respect for human life. The pope indicated he would not back down, telling reporters he had “no fear” of the White House. While this upset some right-leaning Catholics, what he did next sent off a firestorm of responses from the right: He posted an AI-generated image depicting him as Jesus Christ healing the sick, as he’s flanked by symbols of America and both military and spiked figures floating like angels behind him. It was that second sacrilege that expanded the blowback into a full-on political crisis. This time not only from Catholics but from evangelicals and other denominations — including many who are typically aligned with Trump. Read more about how the political backlash to Trump has been building at the link in our bio. 📸: via Truth Social; Matteo Pernaselci - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images; Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images #DonaldTrump #Evangelical #ReligiousRight #AmericanPolitics