The American Pope and the American President: A Stark Easter Sunday Contrast

A starker contrast is difficult to imagine.

On Easter Sunday, the American pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, issued a message and a deadline.

“Easter is the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of love over hatred,” the pope said in his first Urbi et Orbi message. He stated that “the power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent,” comparing it to “a human heart which, wounded by an offense, rejects the instinct for revenge and, filled with compassion, prays for the one who has committed the offense.” Leo lamented that, “We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow.”

The pope continued with words directed at the current conflict in the Middle East: “The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons, but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us!… Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” He urged: “On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil.”

As for his deadline, the pope announced that he will lead a prayer vigil for peace on April 11 at St. Peter’s Basilica. He set a deadline aimed at peace.

By contrast, on Easter Sunday, the American president, Donald Trump, also issued a message marked by exclamations. And he, too, set a deadline.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” screamed Trump on his Truth Social account at 8:03 a.m. Easter morning. “There will be nothing like it!!!” He raged at the Iranians: “Open the F–kin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” 

Trump did not abbreviate the F-word. He let it rip with full force on Easter morning. 

The president oddly (sarcastically, I assume) signed off his message: “Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP” 

I saw the Trump message during Easter Sunday Mass. No, I don’t normally check text messages during Mass, but my 18-year-old son had not shown up and I was worried about his whereabouts. My phone was buzzing like crazy in my jacket pocket. I had better check. Was he okay? Yes, he was. But the president of the United States was not okay. 

“Lord, have mercy,” I said when I read the text. I showed my wife, who reprimanded me for looking at my phone during Mass. When she read the Trump post, she asked, “Is that real? It has to be a fake.”

I spent the rest of Mass with the phone off but consumed by what I had just seen. I was singularly focused not on Christ’s Resurrection but Trump’s proclamation. When Mass ended, I finished my Rosary at the Tabernacle and went back to my buzzing phone outside the church. 

I went to pro-Trump websites like FoxNews.com and Breitbart to see if they had posted the statement. They had indeed. It was real. And the reader comments were exploding. By that evening, each article had over 14,000 comments. Many to most expressed shock and grave disappointment with the president they adored, saddened that he would post such a screed on Easter Sunday. Many questioned his mental fitness, including whether he was slipping into dementia. Some questioned whether he was even a Christian. After all, what sort of Christian wakes up Easter morning and spews bile like that?

I had never seen Trump supporters this shaken by their guy.

Alas, I won’t here focus on such questions, but I would like to dig deeper into the contrast between the American pope and the American president.

As for the pope, I just published the first major biography of Leo XIV. It’s over 400 pages in length, with hundreds of endnotes. It’s a deep dive. I’ve already done at least 50 interviews. One question I’m getting repeatedly, especially from Trump supporters, is why the pope is speaking out so much on the war in the Middle East. My answer is that popes pray for peace. That’s what they do. And it shouldn’t matter to them who’s in the White House. That has been especially so with this pope.

When American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost stepped onto the Loggia on May 8, 2025, after being announced the next head of the Roman Catholic Church, his literal first word was “peace.” He said in Italian: “La pace sia con tutti voi!” Translation: “Peace be with all of you!” The new pope proceeded to explain to the throng below that these were the first words spoken by the risen Christ to his apostles. “Dear brothers and sisters,” said Leo XIV, “these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!”

Overall, the Holy Father’s opening statement resounded the word “peace” 10 times. That was very intentional, as the new pope read from a pre-written statement. His remarks were not off-the-cuff, as was Pope Francis’ first statement from the Loggia in March 2013. Francis’ very brief statement wished everyone a “good evening” and concluded with “good night and sleep well!” It didn’t mention “peace” once, which was fitting given the discord that reigned throughout the Bergoglian pontificate. As for Leo, the word “peace” thus far has reigned throughout his pontificate, whether praying for an end to war between Russia and Ukraine or the latest blowups in the Middle East. It has been a theme of his papacy.

It was telling that in his opening remarks at the Loggia last May, the new pope named after Leo described himself as a “son of Augustine.” He has quoted the 4^th-5^th century saint more than any figure other than Jesus Christ. Of course, Augustine is known for (among other things) Just War doctrine, which has been a go-to guide for theologians and diplomats for centuries. For public officials seeking guidance on whether a decision to go to war is morally just, Augustine’s guidelines have been the standard for 1,600 years.

In noting this fact when discussing my biography of Leo XIV, Trump supporters have responded to me defensively, sometimes angrily, insisting that Leo should not only lay off in criticizing the U.S. military effort in Iran but, quite the opposite, should make the moral case for the American war. Essentially, they want the American pope to go on the offensive, insisting that he should be blasting the decades of terrorism and totalitarianism and human rights abuses by the Iranian mullahs. He should be categorially condemning the broader Islamist extremism that for decades has destroyed peace.

To be sure, Leo ought to indeed condemn Islamist extremism. But as for the current war between the United States and Iran, let’s be smarter than that. Let’s please not think like political partisans when thinking about the Bishop of Rome. The job of the pope, even if he’s the first American pope, is not to devote his annual Easter message to a moral case for American intervention against Iran. His duty isn’t to devote a Lenten homily or the first week of Easter to crafting an Augustinian jus ad bellum argument in support of Donald Trump’s actions in Iran. 

The duty of the pope is to pray for peace.  

Would I prefer that the pope occasionally speak out against the crimes of Islamists and the nearly 50 years of horrific behavior of the Iranian mullahs? Absolutely. I would appreciate some balance in his understanding if not expressing just how bad the Iranian leadership has been since 1979.

But that aside, for now, the contrast between the American pope and the American president on Easter Sunday 2026 was stark. It was terribly unsettling. In terms of who speaks more eloquently, thoughtfully, charitably, and in a more Christian way, that’s no contest at all. 

Donald Trump made that painfully, abundantly clear on Easter Sunday.