The New Pope's a Rejection of Trump in the Strongest Possible Terms
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A Fuck You by Any Other Name Still Smells Like Condemnation
It’d seem “The Holy See”— or the Vatican central government now led by its chosen Pope, Leo XIV—Has Seen Enough of Trump’s America. In a plot twist that could short-circuit Dan Brown’s laptop, the Vatican just sent the clearest possible message: We’ve seen the face of American-style fascism, and we’d rather not burn in it, thanks.
Enter Pope Leo XIV—a Jesuit like Francis, progressive in theology, compassionate in tone, and, wait for it...American. So, when the College of Cardinals picked a U.S.-born pope, sure, it very much seemed like a rebuke of the most anti-Christian—or Christ, if you will—person to ever engulf the Oval Office in his stink. Of course, some thought it might be a nod to America's global cultural presence or a spiritual Hail Mary to reengage wayward U.S. Catholics. And there’s likely some truth in that—but then we saw the Pope’s Twitter account, which is what you might call, The Tell.
The Pope didn’t tweet in 2024. He only tweeted in 2025 for 2 reasons—or, I should say, 2 people to whom he issued verbal poenae (thanks 7th grade Latin). These weren’t subtweets, leaving the reader to figure out whom he was castigating. Nope, the pontiff threw some serious holy shade at Trump and his couch-loving sidekick.
Ruh roh: The Pope schools Catholic/Name convert JD James Donald Hamel Bowman Vance
It’s almost poetic. Just as Trump tries to wrap himself in Jesus cosplay and pretend he’s God's chosen one with a sophomoric image of himself as Pope—the kinda thing that you’d tell your 6th grader was dumber than Caroline Leavitt on goofballs—the actual Vatican taps a man who’s called him out by name. I dunno, maybe the cheating with a porn star while his wife was home with the newborn, or the 34 felony convictions, did it? Or the fact he still can’t tie a fucking tie correctly?
Pontiff RTs a tweet criticizing 2 doofus dictators—Trump & Bukele—for lack of conscience
From what he’s said and tweeted, and where he’s lived (Peru), he clearly is very disturbed—as are many of us, Christian and non-Christian alike—by Trump & Vance’s cruelty-based immigration policy. Perhaps all of this led an historically traditional organization to take a good look at the worldwide damage caused by America’s gaudy, gauche, Biff-Tannen’d, pumpkin-head of a President, who’s intellectually infested with all the collective stupid compiled over millennia of human existence.
And, after some thought, they decided picking a forward-thinking, compassionate person from our environs was exactly how to counter Trump’s influence around the world. To undo some of the damage done by one of the worst humans alive by showing the world the face of a very different American—one who wouldn’t toss toilet paper at desperate people who just survived a vicious hurricane.
No, this was no mistake. The Catholic Church has, in the past, switched off between more progressive reformers & traditionalists, before reform goes beyond where they want it. They clearly chose to follow a reformer with a man who had a very public record of reproaching goo-brained MAGA fascists on a very public platform. Again: In 2024, Leo XIV tweeted nothing. Silence. Reflection. Then 2025 rolls around and the new pope logs in—specifically to rebuke the false prophets of Mar-a-Lago.
His tweets weren’t vague prayers for civility. They were surgical strikes. Trump? A destroyer of decency. JD Vance? A grifter in crucifix drag (don’t forget the eyeliner!). When a spiritual leader has better public political takes than American corporate media, it’s probably time to postulate that the choice may have been, as Mitt Romney might say “severely” purposeful. Don’t forget: Canada and Australia, both countries that had recent elections with conservatives initially running ahead, got a good look at Trump over the last few months and reacted with a resounding: No. Fucking. Way.
So their electoral fortunes went the way of shitty Catholic Rudy Giuliani’s hair dye.
The punchline? While American right-wing troglodytes scream about holy wars & apocalyptic invasions at the southern border, the Vatican reminds us what actual moral leadership looks like: Someone who lifts the poor, protects the environment and doesn’t use a beer bong to inhale narcissism, nationalism and nickel from willing buyers. Pope Leo XIV isn’t just a rejection of Trump. He’s the anti-Trump.
Where Trump tweets threats, Leo offers clarity. Where Trump hugs flags, Leo embraces suffering. And while the MAGA faithful pray to a Golden Calf at Mar-a-Lago, the rest of the world—and now, the Catholic Church—has loudly said: Enough.
…Yo, Check This Out!
Remember to check out my new Substack show—”Amped Up w/ Cliff Schecter”—every Thursday 2pm et, which I co-host with Emmy Award winning former MSNBC anchor, David Shuster! This week we had on 2 great guests—comedian, musician, livestreamer, Hal Sparks. And preeminent political historian, Julian Zelizer. Check it out! And remember to tune in Thursdays at 2pm et on Substack!
Pics from this week’s show!
With Hal Sparks
With Julian Zelizer
Who knew I’d using Bill Gates as a messaging maestro. But, his hit on Elon Musk, in plain language, is the way Democrats MUST talk about MAGA Republicans. I could re-write my Blue Sky post, but think I’ll just share the screen shot :)
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Independent Media For Just $1.50/Week!We launched our Substack show, “Amped Up w/ Cliff Schecter.” To celebrate, you get full access to Blue Amp for only $1.50 per week!
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Leo XIV is an Augustinian, not a Jesuit.
I am so very ready for any positive news of late ❤️🔥