Opinion: Between Hormuz and the Holy See 

In the conspiracy theory environment of Washington DC, it will just be a matter of time before someone puts forth the argument that President Donald Trump’s spat with Pope Leo XIV was intended to take the spotlight away from the plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and the failed Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran. 

But the sideshow that started with the Pope’s critique of Washington’s foreign policy especially of a “diplomacy based on force” is unlikely to subside all that easily by weak firefighting attempts including one that faults everybody for not understanding the President’s humor.

Many aspects of the United States’ war with Iran have been questioned over the last seven weeks; the last one being the purpose of the blockade of the Hormuz when the Iranians have already been doing that effectively since the start of the conflict. Adding fuel to the already raging fire between President Trump and Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has said that it will have nothing to do with closing the Hormuz or involved in any mine sweeping operations until a complete ceasefire is in place arguing, among other things that it would be in violation of international law and considered as an act of war. 

According to reports, an American Aircraft Carrier and at least eleven destroyers have been tasked with enforcing the blockade to ensure that no ship passes through the waterways especially carrying Iranian crude. Washington’s commanders have not spoken of the impending measures in the face of defiance raising the implications of a showdown resulting in blowing up a tanker with its cargo and looking at the horrific spill in the narrow waterways. The question is also being raised of the kind of response the United States if the tanker is bound for China as Beijing is a major customer of Iranian crude. It undoubtedly raises awkward policy choices especially when President Trump is due to visit Beijing on invitation on May 14 and 15.

The tiff that President Trump has with Pope Leo XIV has nothing to do with the blockade of the Hormuz per se, rather on the larger issues of war and peace. Without mentioning President Trump by name the Pontiff during a prayer vigil for peace spoke of a “delusion of omnipotence” and a “zeal for war,” bringing forth the criticism that the Pope was “WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Aside from taking credit for his elevation as Pontiff, President Trump escalated by saying “I don’t want a Pope to who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon;” and telling the Pontiff to “stop catering to the Radical Left.” The response of the Head of the Vatican was on expected lines: that he had “no fear” for the administration and insisting that threats against Iranian civilization were “unacceptable.”

But what really took the issue to a totally different level was not the tone or rant of the rhetoric but of President Trump putting up an image of him looking like Jesus Christ—in white and red robes and in a description that was seen by many as deeply offensive and crass, and insulting not just to Catholics but to all Christians. “The Catholic Church does not in any way fit into American political boxes. It will always prioritize the protection of innocent life in all its stages as well as the cause of the poor and marginalized. Insulting the Pope, and all Catholics by extension, with the hope of making the Church bend to American political agendas, is discouraging and counterproductive,” Ashley McGuire, senior fellow at The Catholic Association has been quoted by Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) News. 

When the outrage started pouring in President Trump not only removed his Truth Social feed but went on to make the point to reporters that he had believed the depiction was that of a doctor making people better. “I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross” and that there was “nothing to apologize for.” But his supporters like Vice President J.D. Vance went further with a different spin—that it was “totally reasonable” to disagree with the Vatican on “substantive questions from time to time;” that the AI-generated image of the President looking like Jesus Christ was a “joke” and that many people were not understanding his humor. “I think the President likes to mix it up over social media and that’s one of the good things about this President,” Vice President Vance said. 

Republican strategists and pollsters must be cringing at the latest development. It comes at a time when the popular approval rating of President Trump is in the mid-to-lower 30s; and consistently scoring poorly with Independents. And the war with Iran has not helped matters eithers with 60 percent of Americans disapproving even if the showing of President Trump is high within Republicans. Prominent conservative podcasters who were instrumental in getting President Trump elected in 2024 have turned against him for a number of things especially for embarking on foreign wars and regime change games he was much against at one time.

Getting on the wrong side of a highly important and sensitive voting population is bound to be of concern to many Republicans wondering about their political fortunes in the November Mid Term elections to the House of Representatives, Senate, State Houses and Governor mansions. It is said that more than 60 percent of American adults identify as Christians, Catholics making up about 20 percent and 51 million as the electorate. As such it is a powerful voting bloc that no candidate would wish to antagonize. Further older white Christians tend to vote Republican. Which is perhaps why a member of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission issued a rare rebuke.

“The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful… No President in my lifetime has shown a greater dedication to defending our first liberty. All that said, I think the President owes the Pope an apology,” Bishop Robert Barron said. And it remains to be seen how many law makers use the President’s remarks and AI- generated graphics to hammer away the urgent need to invoke Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment declaring that he is unable to discharge his duties.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this article/column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of South Asian Herald.

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