Last week, we got our first American pope with Leo XIV. It was an announcement that President Donald Trump regarded as "a great honor," and there were plenty of jokes about how tariffs had to do with it. There are those, including and especially in the mainstream media, who rush to try to politicize the new pope, and bring the Trump and his administration into the selection. This included during ABC News' "This Week," which Martha Raddatz hosted from the Vatican.
Towards the end of the program, Raddatz was speaking with others about the selection of the new pope. Terry Moran, also with ABC, expressed he was "completely shocked," and that they were sure, even saying on air that "there'll never be an American pope," with that reasoning supposedly being "because it's a superpower and that's too much America for the world. "The question that we had was how much did the American moment with President Trump matter? They're telling us not at all. It was him that mattered," he shared, before addressing how Pope Leo XIV was who was "needed."
"And yet inside and some of the people who were really tracking it, saw in then-Cardinal Prevost, now Pope Leo the elements of what was needed at this moment. His experience uh around the world, his experience in Rome, and it was clear that the cardinals very quickly came to a conclusion based on the needs of the church now and who he was," he added, going on to bring up Trump. "The question that we had was how much did the American moment with President Trump matter? They're telling us not at all. It was him that mattered."
"And that's what we've been hearing this morning. It was him, but also a shock," Raddatz also shared, echoing that point.
Trump was certainly paying attention, as he was quick to call out Raddatz from Truth Social. "So funny to watch old timer Martha Raditz [sic] on ABC Fake News (the Slopadopolus show!) this morning, blurt out that, effectively, Pope Leo’s selection had nothing to do with Donald Trump," Trump's post began, as he also went after George Stephanopoulos. "It came out of nowhere, but it was on her Trump Deranged Mind. Remember, I did WIN the Catholic Vote, by a lot! Bob Iger should do something about the losers and haters he’s got on his low rated shows. It’s time for change. MAGA!!!" Trump's post continued.
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An exit poll from The Washington Post showed that Trump won with Catholics last November by 56-41 percent over then Vice President Kamala Harris. Not only was she anti-Catholic with how much she obsessively promoted abortion, but Harris also had a bias against Catholic judicial nominees when she served as a U.S. senator for California. Weeks before the election, she snubbed Catholics at the Al Smith dinner charity event to campaign in battleground states, all of which she lost. Instead of an in-person appearance, she submitted a particularly cringeworthy video message. She even insulted Christian attendees in her audience when campaigning in Wisconsin.
Writing for our sister site of RedState, Rusty Weiss also highlighted how Raddatz was speaking with Cardinal Blase Cupich, who serves as the archbishop of Chicago. He was asked about the new pope's American and Peruvian citizenship.
"My hope would be that he has now a new platform to reintroduce what the church has always called for in terms of its social justice agenda and it will--it will give people another opportunity to take a second look at what [Pope] Francis was saying. But now in the--n the words and the voice of an American who speaks like an American, I think that’s going to be very powerful going forward," he offered, which Raddatz immediately turned into a political statement.
"You talk about America," she responded, after she had just asked him to talk about how the new pope is American and a dual citizen of Peru. "We’re living in a very divided America, as I'm sure you know well. How will he approach that? Can he be any sort of bridge for Americans?"
She also later brought up how Pope Francis cared and now Pope Leo care "so much about the poor and migrants," bringing up the Trump administration with her next question. As she wondered, "In some ways, will he be a counterbalance for what’s happening in American politics right now and President Trump?"
"I think he’s going to help complete and complement our political agenda," Cupich offered in response. "He’ll talk a lot about the immigrants as well because he knows about the sufferings of people and the real needs that they have for a better life," he offered. Cupich also predicted the new pope will do what the bishops in the United States have done. "And he’ll call for, I think, as the bishops have in the United States, fixing this broken immigration system," he added.
It's worth speaking to how this is hardly Raddatz's only notable exchange when discussing immigration. She made particularly ridiculous comments before the 2024 election as well, as she tried to downplay the takeover of Tren de Aragua gang members at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado when talking to now Vice President JD Vance.
Cardinal Cupich: Pope Leo Will Talk A Lot About Illegal Immigration
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) May 11, 2025
Martha Raddatz: In some ways will he be a counterbalance for what's happening in American politics right now and President Trump?
Cupich: I think he's going to help complete and compliment our political agenda.… pic.twitter.com/DQsnpxZ4Nx
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