President Trump was quick to celebrate the historic election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV: the first U.S. citizen to ascend to the papacy.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
“Habemus papam. Jennifer and I join countless others around the globe to congratulate Leo XIV on his election as the head of the Catholic Church, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statment.
“In his first address, he reminded us that God loves each and every person. We trust that he will shepherd us through the best of the Church’s teachings: to respect human dignity, care for the poor, and wish for the common good of us all,” the Democratic governor said.
The response across X to the Chicago-born pope, who also is a citizen of Peru, came fast and loud, mixing patriotism, disbelief, jokes and early ideological debate.
“AMERICAN POPE,” Catholic Answers posted, adding: “massive bald eagle screech.”
“This is huge,” wrote National Review commentator Kayla Bartsch on X. “I still can’t believe they elected an American.”
Republican Matthew Foldi chimed in on X: “It looks like the new Pope is: An American. A Republican. I’m thinking we’re back.”
Pirate Wires editor-in-chief Mike Solana added that “there has never been, there will never be, a country more obnoxious about getting a pope than the USA (god bless us everyone I love us well done).”
The tone on the right has been celebratory, but not without caveats.
In February, the new pope shared a column by the National Catholic Reporter, one taking direct aim at Vice President J.D. Vance’s comments on immigration, titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
That particular line landed well with left-leaning writer John Ganz, who reposted it with: “Love him already.”
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Some Republican critics have already scoured the new pope’s Twitter feed, looking for clues as to Leo’s deeper political belief.
“According to his X/Twitter feed, the newly selected pope trashed Trump, trashed Vance, trashed border enforcement, endorsed DREAMer-style illegal immigration, repeatedly praised and honored George Floyd, and endorsed a Democrat senator’s call for more gun control,” wrote conservative commentator Sean Davis.
Matthew Walther, opinion columnist and editor of The Lamp magazine fired back: “Who cares?”
“I’m sure many people have legitimate misgivings as they have with any new pope, but a litany of sins against Trump-era Republicanism means less than nothing. This just reflects the inability of American conservatives to understand what the papacy is,” he added in another post.
Layperson Christian Schneider took a lighter approach on X: “With Trump’s tariffs in effect, we are now making popes in America.”
Other Catholics were more solemn.
“Pope Leo XIV has spoken about opposing the Throwaway Culture from womb to grave, a witness that will increasingly be essential for the Church to proclaim boldly. Prayers for him, prayers for our church,” Catholic family policy commentator Patrick T. Brown wrote on X.
Catholic theologian Charlie Camosy offered a short X thread praising Leo XIV’s pro-life track record.
Quoting from the new pope’s 2023 remarks on synodality, Mr. Camosy pointed to the former bishop’s comments on humanity: “The Church must walk with all people, especially the most vulnerable, ensuring their dignity is upheld from the womb to the end of life, as this is the heart of Christ’s mission.”
The new pope, a Chicago native and longtime missionary in Peru, has kept a low public profile until now. But with a past that includes sparring with populist rhetoric and defending the poor and marginalized, Pope Leo XIV is unlikely to be easily boxed in.
Whether the church gets a culture warrior, a bridge builder or something different is a question to be answered later. For now, the Catholic world — and much of social media — is just getting used to the phrase: American pope.
• Emma Ayers can be reached at eayers@washingtontimes.com.