Overview
- Pastor Robert Jeffress told Fox News on Saturday that President Trump grasps the Bible’s teaching on government better than Pope Leo XIV, citing Romans 13 to argue the state must restrain wrongdoers.
- Jeffress recounted an Oval Office meeting days after the Iran campaign began, saying Trump warned Iran was within weeks of a powerful weapon, a claim some reporting on U.S. intelligence has disputed.
- Trump shared the Jeffress clip on Truth Social, drawing fresh attention to his running clash with the pope over the U.S.-backed war in Iran.
- The remarks triggered swift pushback on social media, where critics called the comparison to the pope offensive and said it elevates loyalty over theology.
- The exchange follows weeks of friction after Pope Leo urged a ceasefire and diplomacy, a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Vatican to cool tensions, and renewed scrutiny of the factual and religious arguments used to justify the war.