‘I’m not a politician’: Clash with Pope Leo could prove dangerous for Donald Trump

Asymmetric clash between a president who treats power in transactional terms and a pope who frames war, migration, and human dignity as matters of moral principle

Pope Leo XIV arriving in procession to celebrate Mass at Yaoundé Airport in Cameroon on Saturday, the sixth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa.  Picture: Andrew Medichini/AP

“I am not a politician; I speak of the Gospel.” Pope Leo’s recent remarks, made during his apostolic journey to Africa, immediately suggest that his clash with Donald Trump operates on a different level to the US president’s usual political spats.