Trump has a better understanding of the Bible than Pope Leo, says conservative Christian pastor

President Donald Trump has a “better” understanding of the Bible’s lessons than Pope Leo, a conservative Christian pastor has claimed.

Pastor Robert Jeffress made the stunning remark on Fox News this weekend during a discussion about Thursday’s meeting between the first American Pope and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Tensions have flared in recent months after the Pope urged Catholics to pray for a peaceful resolution to the Iran war amid the U.S. president’s threats to “end” Iranian civilization - but he did not mention Trump by name. Trump then posted a series of angry messages on his Truth Social platform, calling the Pope “weak” on crime and accusing him of not understanding the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

According to Jeffress, one of Trump’s longtime backers in the evangelical community, the differing stances amount to Trump being more of a Christian leader than the head of the Catholic church. “The Pope is a good man, he’s sincere in his faith, but he’s sincerely wrong when it comes to Iran,” he told Fox News.

"It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches than the Pope.”

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Jeffress, a Dallas-area megachurch pastor, first endorsed Trump during his 2016 run for office. He has frequently participated in Trump’s meetings with faith leaders, and has led prayers standing next to the president in the Oval Office.

The pastor has also defended Trump’s criticism of the pope in the past. “What the president said was absolutely correct,” Jeffress told the Religion News Service in mid-April. “Pope Leo apparently doesn’t have a biblical understanding of what the government’s role is in protecting its citizens from those who would do us harm both from within and without our country.”

Trump sells special “God Bless the USA Bible” editions of the Bible to his supporters which include the King James version alongside the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance. The books also include a handwritten chorus to Lee Greenwood’s song, God Bless the USA. Trump participated in a Bible-reading marathon last month, reading from 2 Chronicles 7:11–22 — a section of scripture that has long been quoted by those who believe the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation.

But many critics argue that the president has little knowledge of Christian scripture. In early 2016, during a speech to students at Liberty University he incorrectly referred to a passage from Second Corinthians as “Two Corinthians.” During a photo op in 2020, he appeared to hold a Bible upside down as he posed for pictures holding it in front of a church.

Earlier this week, Trump accused the Pope of “endangering Catholics” and claimed that the Vatican was supportive of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, during an interview with a Catholic radio show.

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Pope Leo denied outright Trump’s allegations about the Vatican’s supposed support for nuclear. “The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace,” Leo said. “If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully. For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.”

Aside from his war of words with the Pope, Trump also came under fire for posting an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. After backlash from prominent Christian commentators and some Republican lawmakers, the image was deleted.

Earlier this week, a separate group of pastors led a dedication ceremony for a gold statue of the president which was attended (by phone call) by Trump. The statue was unveiled at Trump National Doral, the president’s golf course in Miami, Florida.

“Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf,” Mark Burns, a member of Pastors for Trump, wrote on Facebook. “This statue is a celebration of life. It is a symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the will power to keep fighting for the future of America.”

Jeffress declined to comment on the image when he was questioned about it in a separate interview by the Religion News Service.

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