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Following the publication on the Truth Social platform of an image created using artificial intelligence, where he appeared as Jesus Christ, but also the public clash with Pope Leo, polling data suggests that President Donald Trump may be losing a lot of support among Catholic voters...
US President Donald Trump's post, in which he appeared in an ironic post as Jesus Christ helping Pope Leo who was languishing sick in bed, coincided with several poll results showing growing dissatisfaction among this electorate.
Trump said on Monday that he shared the image because he thought it portrayed him as a doctor who heals people, but the damage to public perception had already been done. Even on Truth Social itself, where his posts usually find widespread support from supporters, there were clear signs of discontent, including many angry comments from some users.
"Mr. President, with all due respect, take this off. You are not Jesus!" wrote one user who described himself as a "Bible believer, God-fearing, Jesus follower, American patriot, ultra-MAGA."
He added: “If this was done by someone on your staff, then fire them and apologize to Christians for this mockery.” California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, a Catholic, responded by releasing an altered version of the image, showing Trump as a mortal man with Jeffrey Epstein in the background.
Trump did not apologize or publicly retract his stance, although he deleted the tweet a few hours later. He also stood by his criticism of Pope Leo, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
On the other hand, there are broader indications that a growing portion of Catholic voters are reconsidering their support for Trump. Recent results at the local level and beyond show a decline in support for him, especially among Hispanic voters, who had been close to him in the 2024 elections.
Trump won the majority of the Catholic vote by a 12-point margin. Today, just 48 percent approve of his job as president, while 52 percent disapprove — a drop of 16 points.
Regarding the way he has led the war in Iran, 40 percent of them express support and 60 percent oppose, according to a joint survey by Shaw & Co Research (Republican) and Beacon Research (Democrat).
The discontent was also highlighted by the appearance of three of the country's most prominent cardinals on CBS's "60 Minutes," where they strongly supported the Pope's anti-war stance.
Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said: “In Catholic teaching this is not a just war. You have to have a clear purpose: to restore justice and peace.” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark added: “The pope is the shepherd of the world. He is not a political analyst. He speaks about the things that matter.”
In the last election in 2024, Trump took 55 percent of the Catholic vote to Kamala Harris's 43 percent. In 2020, Trump took 52 percent of the Catholic vote, while Joe Biden took 49 percent.
“Catholics are swing voters,” says John White, a political science professor at the Catholic University of America. About a quarter of American voters are Catholic. “They voted for Biden in 2020, for Trump in 2024, and now they are undecided. And they are not immune to the economic fallout from the Iran war and the tariffs,” he adds.
White noted that the reaction to the image of Jesus Christ was much stronger than to last year's post, where Trump appeared in papal robes, which suggests that attitudes are changing even among his supporters.
He cited a number of factors that could explain the shift. Hispanic voters are particularly unhappy with Trump's efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship and his campaign of mass deportations, while some immigrants have been arrested in court while trying to regularize their status.
This situation could affect the midterm elections in November, when Congress will be re-elected along with a third of the Senate.
"You can see states like Arizona, Nevada, California and Texas, with large Hispanic populations - especially along the Texas-Mexico border - where Trump achieved impressive results. But they seem to be fading rapidly," White points out.
"But I'm also interested in seeing where white Catholics stand, because they've been the group that's shifted most toward the Republicans over the decades, from the peak with Kennedy and Johnson to Nixon and then Reagan. That's where the strongest base of support for Trump among Catholics has been," the expert states.
In addition to those of Irish and Italian descent, concentrated mainly in the northeastern United States, there are also Catholics of Polish and Ukrainian descent who deserve attention.
“Some say there is no such thing as a Catholic vote because it is not the first thing people consider when they go to the ballot box, compared to party affiliation. But I think we have reached a point where Catholics cannot ignore what is being said and what is happening,” White concluded./ Pamphlet from “The Times”
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