Is Pope Leo XIV a 'WOKE MARXIST POPE'? He is if you're a Trump supporter. | Opinion
In the right-wing loon-o-sphere, the reaction to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost becoming the first American-born pope has been one of outrage and disgust.
Well, MAGA, it looks like you got yourself another "woke pope" to contend with.
In the right-wing loon-o-sphere, the reaction to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost becoming the first American-born pope has been one of outrage and disgust. Conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who is regularly in President Donald Trump’s ear, posted of the new pontiff: “WOKE MARXIST POPE.”
Hardcore Trump supporter Ryan Selkis, a former crypto CEO, shared past social media posts believed to be from the new pope. They included things like support for George Floyd and criticism of Trump’s family separation policy. Selkis wrote: “A new woke pope. BLM. Kids in cages. Suicidal empathy. American who mostly posts en espanol.”
'Woke pope,' screams the MAGA crowd. Apparently, Jesus' own teachings go too far.
I’m not familiar with the “empathy is bad” portion of the Bible. But it seems the MAGA crowd is generally upset at the new pope, who took the name Leo XIV, because he believes in the things Jesus taught. The fact that those things – loving others, embracing peace, welcoming immigrants – are deemed “woke” and thus intolerable by parishioners of the Church of Trump tells you all you need to know about the congregation.
Who knows, maybe they’re just upset other places keep choosing leaders who stand against much of what Trump stands for.
Conservatives in Canada and Australia took a beating in recent elections thanks to widespread dislike of Trump, and now the Vatican gets a U.S. pope who: believes climate change is an urgent crisis; hails from Chicago, a city Trump has routinely derided as a liberal sanctuary city; preaches love for immigrants; and, like his papal predecessor and most humans, doesn’t seem to like Vice President JD Vance.
On his verified X account, then-Cardinal Prevost shared a column about Vance that included the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.”
That’s a double sad trombone for Vance, a fairly recent convert to Catholicism who has now taken heat from two popes.
Rabid Trump supporters see new pope as threat to MAGA cruelty
In 2015, Prevost shared a Washington Post opinion column written by Cardinal Timothy Dolan with the headline: “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.”
Such horrible wrongs led Loomer to sum up the new pope like this: “He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis.”
Somebody get these folks a Bible or a hobby, or both.
You might remember back when Trump was inaugurated for the second time, an Episcopal bishop had the gall to ask the new president and vice president to "have mercy upon the people in our country," saying: "The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals."
Trump himself and the MAGA-verse erupted in outrage, as if those were the cruelest, most outrageous words ever spoken. That set the stage for the May 8 reaction to Pope Leo XIV.
So Pope Leo XIV is a 'globalist'? Why must everything be a conspiracy?
Sean Feucht, a wildly pro-Trump Christian nationalist singer and pastor, posted of the new pope: “This is all a very calculated move people. IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP! They chose a globalist and woke Pope from the West ON PURPOSE to stand up and criticize the leaders of the Free World.”
And right-wing conspiracy nutter Mike Cernovich posted: “Sorry, Catholics. This new Pope is an open borders globalist. He will be pushing for abortion soon.
Oh no, the new pope is a Catholic. It's a true nightmare for MAGA.
Hey, it wouldn’t be MAGA without 24/7 victimhood. The Catholic Church got a new pope from Chicago who seems to be … you know … Catholic.
And apparently that makes him a regular Pope Woke Marxist II. Which in turn makes him a threat to Trump, his policies and the army of dipstick influencers that bow at Trump's feet.
Whatever your faith, conclude from that what you will.
Follow Paste BN columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk