Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
The founder and leader of the movement, President Donald Trump, on Thursday quickly praised the selection of Leo, who was Chicago-born but has lived much of his adult life in Peru.
"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!" Trump wrote in a social media post.
Additionally, Vice President JD Vance, only the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, congratulated the new pope, adding, "I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!"
PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS FIRST AMERICAN POPE LEO XIV AN ‘HONOR’ FOR US, ‘VERY HAPPY’
However, thanks to a paper trail of weighing in on major American lighting rod issues such as illegal immigration, gun control, and even the 2020 death of George Floyd – which sparked nationwide protests targeting police brutality towards minorities – the new pope was bound to be controversial among some of Trump's millions of MAGA supporters.
Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist in Trump's first administration and a conservative Catholic, wrote, "Worst pick ever," in responding on social media to the new pope's election.
That sentiment from Bannon, and much harsher words from some far-right podcasters and social media influencers, was likely fueled in part by apparent past posts from the new pope – which could not be independently verified by Fox News – that were critical of the Trump administration's sweeping and controversial immigration policies.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend Pope Francis' funeral on April 28, 2025 at the Vatican. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Among those Catholics who supported Trump is former New Hampshire state House Speaker Bill O'Brien, who is one of the state's two members on the Republican National Committee.
O'Brien told Fox News that he's "very respectful of the votes of the conclave, and I'm also proud that we do have a pope from America."
"I certainly would have liked to have seen someone more in the tradition of Pope Benedict, who held more closely to the traditional doctrines of the church," O'Brien said. "But I'm not sure that Pope Leo is really established now in terms of where he will be. And the fact that he criticized Trump, I suppose that probably shows a less than developed political sense than it does a doctoral sense, which is more important."
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O'Brien noted that "any pope, any religious figure for that matter, is going to be concerned about those who are powerless in our society, and rightfully so, but that doesn't mean he's given intense thought to the importance of national borders."
He additionally emphasized that "I'm thrilled about where he comes from, and I'm hopeful about where he's going."
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
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