When former First Lady Maria\u202fShriver took to Instagram to denounce President Donald\u202fTrump\u2019s recent tirade against Pope Leo\u202fXIV, the backlash was swift and widespread. The 70\u2011year\u2011old Catholic icon, known for her outspoken stance on faith and politics, called Trump\u2019s remarks \u201cunhinged\u201d and urged the nation to demand better leadership from its highest office.<\/p>\n
On Monday, March\u202f13, Shriver posted a heartfelt message on Instagram, urging Americans to \u201cspeak up and demand better.\u201d She criticized the president\u2019s lack of composure and compassion, arguing that \u201cthe job of President requires composure, compassion, and the ability not to react to anything and everything you do not like.\u201d Her words echoed a long\u2011standing belief that the presidency should be a model of dignity, especially when dealing with global religious leaders.<\/p>\n
Just a day before Shriver\u2019s post, Trump unleashed a scathing attack on Pope Leo\u202fXIV via his Truth\u202fSocial platform. He labeled the new pope \u201cweak on crime and terrible for foreign policy,\u201d a stark contrast to the president\u2019s own claims of record\u2011low crime rates and a booming stock market. Trump\u2019s comments also referenced the pope\u2019s criticism of the administration\u2019s handling of the COVID\u201119 pandemic, accusing the church of fear and of \u201carresting priests, ministers and everyone else\u201d for holding services.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo\u202fXIV, formerly Cardinal Robert\u202fPrevost, made history in March\u202f2025 by becoming the first American to hold the papacy. His election marked a significant shift in the Catholic Church\u2019s global dynamics, and his leadership has been closely watched by both religious and secular observers. The pope\u2019s emphasis on compassion, social justice, and interfaith dialogue has earned him praise from many quarters, including Maria\u202fShriver, who has long championed Catholic values in public life.<\/p>\n
In addition to the verbal attack, Trump sparked further controversy by posting an AI\u2011generated image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ. The photo was widely condemned by political opponents and religious leaders alike for its blasphemous tone. After intense backlash, the image was removed from Trump\u2019s social media accounts. Shriver criticized the president not only for his remarks about the pope but also for the disrespectful nature of the AI image, calling it a \u201cdisgrace to the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shriver\u2019s condemnation highlights a growing tension between the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When former First Lady Maria Shriver took to Instagram to denounce President Donald Trump\u2019s recent tirade against Pope Leo XIV, the backlash was swift and widespread. The 70\u2011year\u2011old Catholic icon, known for her outspoken stance on faith and politics, called Trump\u2019s remarks \u201cunhinged\u201d and urged the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}