Donald Trump indicates he’d like to speak with Pope Leo XIV, says ‘He’s a surprise choice’ | World News

US President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Wednesday that he would like to speak to Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States. “He was really a surprise choice,” Trump said in the interview conducted for the network’s “Hannity” program. 
On May 8, white smoke emerged from the Sine Chapel chimney signaling the election of the new pope. Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost, 69, became the first American to ascend to the highest position in the Catholic Church.
Trump, while commenting on the election said, “To have the pope from the United States of America, that’s a great honour.”
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Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert since 2019, welcomed the election of the pope. On X, he wrote, “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Chrians will pray for his successful work leading the Church.”
Prior criticism from Pope Leo XIV
Before assuming the papacy, Pope Leo XIV had reportedly posted critiques of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, particularly regarding immigration and human rights issues.

In April, he reposted a comment questioning Trump’s meeting with El Salvador’s President Bukele: “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not durbed?” Earlier in February, the pope had shared an article titled: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
The pope’s older brother, John Prevost, offered some insight. In a recent New York Times interview, the 71-year-old retired teacher said his brother shares Pope Francis’s concerns about US immigration policy.Story continues below this ad
He said, “I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact… but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
(With inputs from Reuters, AP, The Guardian)
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