Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on May 8, 2025 (Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock.com)
President Donald Trump and his administration like to talk about the importance of being manly, but as Trump supporters continue to part ways with the Catholic Church because of papal criticisms of American policy, experts on Pope Leo XIV argued on Sunday that the Vatican contains more authentic masculinity than the White House.
"Toughness is a cardinal virtue in the MAGA movement, where it signals an in-your-face masculinity and a readiness to use force — and even cruelty — to conquer perceived enemies," wrote Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow for The New York Times on Sunday. They wrote a book, "American Pope," about Pope Leo XIV.
"At times, this quality has become intertwined with Christianity, as when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March recited a prayer at the Pentagon for God to 'break the teeth of the ungodly," they continued. They added, "Pope Leo XIV, who has clashed with the Trump administration over the war in Iran and immigration policy, hardly fits this mold of “high T” Christianity. He’s calm and reserved, and often seeks compromise over conflict. But it would be a mistake to misjudge Leo as soft. He’s actually the tough guy here."
From there, they described Pope Leo's career as a missionary and leader of the Augustinian order, as well as his upcoming rigorous trips to Argentina, Peru and Uruguay despite currently recovering from cancer surgery. He also recently undertook a courageous trip to a violent area of Nigeria.
"As pope, he seems a bit more careful about his personal safety (the Swiss Guard helps)," the two biographers continued. "But he remains as determined as ever. In a hot-mic moment at the Apostolic Palace last year, Queen Rania of Jordan turned to Pope Leo and asked with concern, “Your Holiness, do you think it is safe to go to Lebanon?'"
They added: "'Well, we’re going,' he replied with a tight smile. The trip, which included a stop in Turkey, went off safely, despite war in the region. Leo has shown the same resolve during his bout with lung cancer. He announced the diagnosis himself from the Apostolic Palace, revealing a transparency — and vulnerability — rarely, if ever, seen from modern popes."
As one example of the Pope's toughness, they told a story about his recent surgery.
"On the second day after his operation, his surgeon found him arranging chairs in the hospital’s chapel," they wrote. "'Holy Father, we can do that,' his surgeon told him. 'It doesn’t matter,' Leo replied. 'I can do it, so I will.'"
Earlier in October, a journalist who runs a Substack that focuses on Pope Leo XIV also argued that Trump has managed to turn Pope Leo XIV into a freedom fighter analogous to Pope John Paul II during the Cold War.
The new pope has responded to Trump by recognizing that "the danger to human dignity wears a red hat and speaks the language of the right. Just as God raised up John Paul II behind the Iron Curtain to stand up to communism, God has raised up a pope from the Americas, from inside the walls of MAGA authoritarianism, to stand up to it," wrote Christopher Hale, who authors a Substack on Pope Leo XIV.
The pope's opposition to Trump has even cost the president politically.
"With the midterms approaching, the first American pope’s defiant opposition to Trump is coming into view as contributing to Trump’s status as a flailing lame-duck," Juan Williams, a longtime political analyst for Fox News, wrote in June. "Pope Leo is clear in saying Trump is out of step with Christianity’s core teachings: concern for the poor, skepticism of the rich, embrace of the refugees, and love for thy neighbor. These teachings are diametrically opposed to Trump starting war with Iran."