What exact words did Pope Leo XVI use about Donald Trump and in what context were they said?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Pope Leo XIV has publicly criticized aspects of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies, notably saying Trump’s recent remarks about Europe were “trying to break apart what I think is an important alliance today and in the future,” and warning his administration’s approach to Ukraine risks fracturing the U.S.–Europe relationship [1] [2] [3]. Separately, Leo has questioned whether some Trump-era immigration policies are “pro-life” and called certain treatment of migrants “inhuman,” remarks that have sharpened tensions between the Vatican and conservative Catholics who supported the pope early in his pontificate [4] [5].
1. What exactly the pope said — the most quoted lines
In on-the-record remarks reported after a meeting at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV told reporters: “The remarks [by Trump] that were made about Europe recently are, I think, trying to break apart what I think is an important alliance today and in the future,” language that Reuters, Politico, CNA and other outlets reproduced verbatim [1] [2] [4]. Catholic News Agency and Euronews likewise paraphrased and quoted the pope saying Trump’s comments were “trying to break apart what needs to be a very important alliance” [6] [1].
2. The immediate context — where and when he spoke
Those remarks came during press exchanges around Pope Leo’s December 2025 encounters with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reporters at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, where the pope was discussing the Ukraine conflict, Europe’s role in a peace process and concerns that a U.S. plan might sideline European partners [1] [7] [3]. Multiple outlets note the comments were made in the course of a diplomatic and media moment tied to Leo’s December travels and meetings on Ukraine [1] [8].
3. Broader critique: immigration and ‘inhuman’ treatment
This rebuke did not arise in isolation. Since his election, Leo has openly questioned whether hard-line immigration policies align with Catholic “pro-life” teaching and used the word “inhuman” to describe aspects of deportation and migrant treatment, remarks that unsettled conservative Catholics who had initially embraced him [4] [5]. Reporting links his critiques of Trump-era policies on migrants to a pattern of papal concern for solidarity and human dignity [4] [5].
4. How major outlets framed the comments
Reuters framed Leo’s words as ending an early “honeymoon” with conservative Catholics and emphasized the pope’s questioning of whether Trump’s immigration crackdown is “pro-life” [4]. BBC and AP characterized the comments as unusually direct interventions on geopolitics and allied unity, with AP saying Leo “criticized what he said was the Trump administration’s effort to ‘break apart’ the long-standing U.S.-European alliance” [5] [3]. Politico and Axios reported essentially the same quoted language and highlighted the diplomatic implications [2] [8].
5. Competing perspectives and political reaction
Coverage shows competing political readings: some commentators and outlets treat Leo’s words as a principled defense of allied cooperation and European inclusion in peacemaking, while conservative critics see the remarks as partisan and damaging to the pope’s earlier rapport with right-leaning Catholics [4] [9]. Politico noted Trump said he hadn’t seen the criticism and expressed openness to meeting the pope, signaling a political eagerness to defuse tensions [10].
6. What the sources do not say or confirm
Available sources do not mention any longer denunciation using the language attributed to fabricated videos circulating online, nor do they corroborate claims that the pope issued an apocalyptic or explicitly religious condemnation of Trump framed as a divine warning; fact-check outlets have flagged fabricated or AI-generated clips about Leo making extreme statements [11]. If you have seen viral clips with dramatically different wording, current reporting here does not validate those versions [11].
7. Why the exact wording matters — and how to judge viral claims
The precise quoted sentence about “trying to break apart” the alliance is documented across mainstream outlets [1] [2] [3]. Viral clips that ascribe more sensational, religious or apocalyptic language to the pope have been subject to debunking and are tied to channels that have propagated AI-manipulated content, according to fact-check coverage [11]. For accuracy, rely on the on-the-record quotes reproduced by Reuters, AP, Politico, CNA, BBC and similar outlets [4] [3] [2] [5] [1].
Limitations: this summary uses only the provided reporting; full transcripts of the pope’s press exchanges are not included among the sources supplied here, and direct Vatican press-release text was not provided in the results above (not found in current reporting).