Off The Record: First American Pope Criticized Trump & Vance In Tweets — Now Leading The Church
Although he’s American, the new pope seems to oppose Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies, based on what he’s posted on social media.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, originally from Chicago, was elected on Thursday as the first American Pope, now leading the Catholic Church’s 1.41 billion members worldwide.
Now known as Pope Leo XIV, he’s spoken out in the past against the Trump administration’s approach to immigration.
One example is a retweet he made on April 14 about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old undocumented father of three from Maryland who was deported to El Salvador during Trump’s term. The tweet he shared said,
“Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”
Pope Leo XIV, now 69, has also posted articles criticizing the immigration views of Catholic politician JD Vance. One article he shared was titled:
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
He also supported DACA recipients—immigrants brought to the U.S. as children—by sharing a statement from 2017 standing up for their rights.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has made history as the first American-born Pope. Though born in the U.S., he spent most of his religious life in Peru—eventually becoming a citizen—and served as archbishop of Chiclayo. His deep Latin American roots and alignment with Pope Francis’s reforms made him a popular choice among Latin and North American cardinals.
