Next to Pope Leo

Donald Trump and Leo XIV were on a collision course from day one. A bombastic President of the United States who sends his police to hunt down immigrants and threatens the disappearance of an entire civilization cannot count on papal blessing. And when asked about it, Robert Francis Prevost calmly and with a quiet smile uttered a simple statement: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration,” which, coming from him, seems directly inspired by the evangelical “Do not be afraid.”

It is curious, because everyone thought that this Pope (who will have been elected for a year on May 8) was not heard much, if at all, especially compared to his loquacious predecessor Francis, but now it turns out that with a single sentence he has won over many people, from Sánchez to Meloni. And if Trump continues to play the lamentable game of holy cards where he plays God, more people will turn against him.

The case of Spain is very curious due to the role reversal it represents: the left with Leo XIV, without the Catholic Church having moved on issues such as euthanasia, abortion, or the ordination of women priests; the far-right with Trump, but well infiltrated into the Catholic Church, and the conservative right bewildered, because it was assumed that Sánchez's friends were their enemies, and now it turns out that Leo XIV has verbalized what Sánchez practiced.

Leo XIV has not discovered that Trump is a dangerous egomaniac, but the clash between the two in open field is very important because their playing field is the entire world. And to hear someone with moral authority over Trump's voter base – and conservative voters in general – say, without losing their cool, that they are not afraid of him encourages many people not to feel helpless in the face of public danger that is shameful.