Outside the Beltway

In Front of Our Noses

Trump attacks the Pope on Truth Social, You know, as one does.

Steven L. Taylor
32

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Given that this was part of the news headlines on NPR this morning, and is being widely reported, it is, in some ways, already old news. Or, at least, it is sort of a “dog bites man” story insofar as President Trump posting a screed on social media almost doesn’t rate as news, except, of course, for the fact that he uses it to announce actual policy (such as declaring the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will begin at 10 am eastern time).

I must confess I am struggling to even find the right words to describe this, as everything I come up with sounds either inadequate, cartoonish, or cliched (because anyone who writes about this presidency has already talked about his narcissism, his sociopathy, and so forth).

Is it a rant? A screed? Is it unhinged? Is it unpresidential? Is it full of lies? Is it inappropriate? Is it unproductive? Is it thin-skinned? Is it juvenile?

Yes to all of that, and more.

Worse, it is not even the worst thing he has posted on Truth Social this month! We started last week with threats of civilizational destruction of Iran.

It is all exhausting.

But, to the point of this series, the truth of Orwell’s statement continues to be deeply true: “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

It is also exhausting.

The following is remarkable for a lot of reasons, but let me note especially two.

  1. This is simply not something a president should be saying, let alone in this form and fashion.
  2. The fact that my first impulse was to ignore it, because it is just “Trump being Trump” underscores how problematic a leader he is.

To that second point, I would illustrate as follows. When Aunt Alice goes off on her latest racial rant, and we all just say, “Well, that’s Aunt Alice, what are you going to do?” or when Uncle Fred drinks too much and passes out again, and we all just say, “That’s Fred, what are you going to do?” it is beause we have gotten to the point that the problematic behavior is just part of who they are. That’s not great for Alice, Fred, or the rest of us, but at least the behavior in question is limited to our living room.

This is the President of the United States!

The Baptist News Global had the following write-up: In post full of lies, Trump lambastes Pope Leo.

And, indeed, the post is full of lies and exaggerations.

Note, Trump did not win in a landslide. He won a plurality of the vote and beat Harris by 1.47% of the popular vote. That is not a landslide.

And I did find two examples of pastors being arrested during COVID, one in Florida and another in Louisiana. They happened in March and April of 2020. Guess who was president at the time?

Just to add a little sweetener to the unhinged of it all, Trump posted the following 46 minutes later:

So, on Easter Sunday, the man was dropping f-bombs. Today, he is posting images of himself in the role of Jesus Christ.

Sure. This is all normal and defensible.

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32 responses to “In Front of Our Noses”

  1. Gregory Lawrence Brown Avatar
    Gregory Lawrence Brown

    Look at all the white people!

    7
  2. drj Avatar
    drj

    I liked the part where Trump declared that the Pope shouldn’t criticize the US President.

    Kinda like we’re doing the Investiture Controversy again.

    Also, no actual Christian would ever tolerate or forgive the message of that crappy AI picture.

    4
  3. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    Evangelicals gave up on Jesus Christ, that’s how Trump got elected. People today have short attention spans, they can’t wait 2,000 years to have sky daddy smite the people who need smiting – trans people, gay people, brown people, liberals, women who have not bred little white babies. So there will be some performative grumbling and then his poll support won’t move because Evangelicals are CHINOs, Christians In Name Only. They are white supremacist Christofascists, not followers of Christ in any meaningful sense. For white evangelicals, Trump is Jesus and Jesus is Trump and they wallow together in the sewer of Christian moral collapse.

    12
  4. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    It is also exhausting.

    This!
    Although I am impressed that he got the Baptist News Global to defend the Pope.

    11
  5. restless Avatar
    restless

    @Gregory Lawrence Brown:

    And the ICE angels!

    (At first I thought they were military, but they seem to have masks 🙁 )

    3
  6. Gregory Lawrence Brown Avatar
    Gregory Lawrence Brown

    Someone should ask Leavitt if this is Trump’s proposal to replace Obamacare.

    16
  7. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    Is he healing the sick or stealing their soul?

    11
  8. Gregory Lawrence Brown Avatar
    Gregory Lawrence Brown

    How would Trump profit by stealing a soul (whatever that is)?
    It’s their wallet that he is after!

    7
  9. Slugger Avatar
    Slugger

    I’m very impressed by Mr. Trump’s image as a widely beloved healer. It would be more impressive if we tortured him to death and waited for him to rise after three days. I have plenty of nails; do any of you have extra wood?

    11
  10. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    @Slugger:

    I’d prefer a Tantalus type torture, where what would recede when EL Taco reached for it are money and adulation. He can have all the hamberders and diet cokes he wants.

    2
  11. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    El Taco deleted his blasphemous post.

    Choice quote:

    Megan Basham, a writer at the conservative Daily Wire, called the post “OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy”.

    “I don’t know if the President(sic) thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this,”

    Look in front of your nose, Megan. It’s right there. El Taco feels nothing but contempt for you and your beliefs, he revels in mockery, and he thinks you’re as stupid as he is. Really, in front of your nose. It’s been there all along.

    13
  12. Jay L. Gischer Avatar
    Jay L. Gischer

    @Michael Reynolds: Christians did give up on Jesus, but it’s because they decided he wouldn’t ever smite those people. So they left the churches where they heard things like “welcome the stranger” and “feed the poor” and “tend the sick”. And instead went to churches that told them God wanted them to be rich. And of course, they have to perform their Christianity very, very loudly, because who would know they are Christians by their love?

    7
  13. Richard Gardner Avatar
    Richard Gardner

    WTF is up with the Red White and Blue Face? Weird.
    As opposed to Orange pancake makeup?

    3
  14. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    I’m just going to take this as confirmation of the reports that the undersecretary of war threatened the Vatican with a new Avignon Papacy.

    3
  15. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    @Jay L. Gischer:
    That’s fine, now tell me why all the rest of American Christendom won’t stand up to these people. Where are the Catholics and Lutherans and Methodists loudly denouncing these Christofascists? Crickets from Christendom in the face of the anti-christ.

    I have nothing but contempt for people who claim a moral high ground, who say they are in constant contact with God, but somehow lack the strength or moral clarity to stand up for what’s right. When are mainstream Christians going to grow some backbone?

    I suppose that’s one of the differences between believers and non-believers – we non-believers actually practice what we preach. We actually believe what we say we believe. We stand up to the Christofascists while the god-botherers make faint mewling sounds from their pews.

    2
  16. wr Avatar
    wr

    I do love the concept that the Pope is soft on crime.

    5
  17. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    Trump claims he intended to portray himself as a a doctor healing America in that AI image.

    I am not joking.

    4
  18. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    @CSK:

    Law, biology, and best medical practice all say you cannot be the disease and the doctor at the same time.

    7
  19. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    @Michael Reynolds:

    That’s fine, now tell me why all the rest of American Christendom won’t stand up to these people. Where are the Catholics and Lutherans and Methodists loudly denouncing these Christofascists? Crickets from Christendom in the face of the anti-christ

    .

    Probably the most conspicuous news coverage of Christian pushback came in early 2025, when an Episcopalian bishop criticized Trump to his face about his anti-immigrant vitriol. But other pushback happens, without the mainstream press necessarily covering it. Here are some examples, including Bishop Budde’s sermon:

    https://time.com/7209222/bishop-mariann-budde-trump/
    https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/13-february/news/world/bishops-call-on-trump-to-apologise-or-resign-over-video-of-obamas
    https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-06-02/archbishop-of-washington-trumps-visit-to-shrine-baffling-and-reprehensible
    https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/southern-baptist-convention-leader-under-fire/

    The press struggles to cover these issues because (1) most of their religious coverage is fairly superficial, lacking context about the internal workings of different branches of Christianity; (2) there are a lot of branches, many of which are very decentralized; and (3) these institutions are headquartered in a few big cities, so the statements or actions of church leaders outside these municipalities is very limited.

    Therefore, if a Catholic in Minnesota says that Trump’s screed is “not constructive”, there’s a good chance that the national press will miss it altogether. If they do hear of it, their shrinking pool of reporters may not know what to make of the news. Is this someone with significant influence? Is he speaking for his flock, or speaking to them? Is he stepping out of line in the Catholic hierarchy in making this statement? Is he giving voice to the dominant opinion within the American hierarchy, or is he a dissident?

    In this case, it did get covered, because Bishop Barron is the potted plant who was standing in the White House during an interfaith meeting, when Paula White effectively said that Trump is a Jesus-like figure, and said nothing. But what if a bishop in Los Angeles or Miami said something critical of Trump? Likely, you’d never hear of it, unless (1) you live in that city, and (2) you are Catholic.

    8
  20. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Kingdaddy: Not to mention the clergy we saw in the streets in Minneapolis and elsewhere, including some who were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience at the air port.

    There are people like James Talarico who are explicitly pushing back as a matter of faith.

    7
  21. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    @Kingdaddy:
    If mainstream Christians wanted to be heard nationally, they would be heard nationally. Do they not have Twitter? Do they not have their own publications? Do they not have their own media operations? Do they not know the email of reporters? They certainly make themselves heard on abortion and on gay/trans rights, don’t they? Try to tax a church and see just how loud they can get.

    Like I said: faint mewling sounds. They’re weak, fearful and cowardly, and many secretly hate the same people the Evangelicals hate and silently cheer them on. My wife wears pro-trans shirts into very red state schools, showing more balls than mainstream Christians show, but like I said, atheists actually believe what we say we believe and we don’t have a sky daddy to forgive us for being hypocrites or cowards.

    2
  22. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    @Steven L. Taylor:
    Yeah, yeah and there was Dietrich Bonhoeffer so somehow we forgive the Lutheran and Catholic churches from kissing Hitler’s ass. Is this one of those Sodom things where if you find one righteous Christian the whole city is saved?

    If God is for us, who can be against us? And hey, there was that one pastor who showed up for a rally surrounded by secular types who somehow manage to stand up like men and women even without the backing of Almighty God and without even the promise of eternal life.

    2
  23. Gregory Lawrence Brown Avatar
    Gregory Lawrence Brown

    @CSK:..healing America…

    If he wants to heal America he needs to call off his ICE goons so they won’t murder more American Citizens.

    4
  24. Jay L. Gischer Avatar
    Jay L. Gischer

    @Michael Reynolds: Michael, they are standing up. Every day. You don’t recognize it because A) you aren’t plugged in to them and B) They don’t argue the way you do. Also C) they don’t really like making a scene. You know, it’s the whole “do good in secret” business?

    There have been multiple news stories and pieces in the Atlantic about how MAGA is tearing evangelical churches apart. That means there’s somebody in those churches who isn’t MAGA, right?

    I see someone pushing back on MAGA from a religious standpoint most days. If you don’t, it’s because the media ecosystem fragments us. We don’t see the same things.

    I do not want you to take this post as saying that your way of politics is worse. It’s different. I like different. It’s valuable. I take exception to the blanket condemnation of all Christians, though. Very much.

    8
  25. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    @Michael Reynolds:

    If mainstream Christians wanted to be heard nationally, they would be heard nationally. Do they not have Twitter? Do they not have their own publications? Do they not have their own media operations? Do they not know the email of reporters?

    Perhaps because becoming influencers isn’t part of their pastoral mission, as they see it?

    That said, as Steven pointed out, there are a lot of priests, ministers, pastors, and the like among the protestors. They’re a very visible, regular presence.

    5
  26. Kingdaddy Avatar
    Kingdaddy

    From Lawyers Guns And Money:

    Another thing that isn’t surprising is the wide range of people telling him to back off. According to this article from the National Catholic Reporter, critics include:

    Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
    Bishop Robert Barron, who is – or was a member of the Religious Liberty Commission at the White House.
    The Dominican Sisters of Peace.
    A Democratic representative, senator and governor (WIAB).
    Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
    Pedro Sánchez, prime minister of Spain.
    Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

    3
  27. dazedandconfused Avatar
    dazedandconfused

    @Kingdaddy:

    While I was in LGM I discovered this. Trump was apparently up all night posting on social media.

    No way to tell if Trump isn’t the only person posting as Donald Trump, he’s unable to sleep due to stress, or is self medicating with amphetamines, but the latter two are exceedingly perilous for a man of his age.

    I had noticed his post declaring the blockade over the weekend was made at 4:30 AM before this.

    2
  28. Daryl Avatar
    Daryl

    So these people think that Fatso is Jesus and he killed 160 innocent children in Iran, two innocent American citizens in Minn., and, according to Covid data, 400,000 other innocent Americans?
    What’s wrong with these idiots???

    3
  29. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    It keeps getting worse.

    Alleged Catholic JD Couch Boy said:

    I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality … and let the President United States stick to dictating American public policy.

    Sorry, no link to this portion of The Guardian’s live blog.

    So, it turns out war is not a matter of morality? Is Couch Boy confessing there was no moral or ethical consideration in the decision, such as it was, to launch a major war?

    Second, the president, or El Taco as may be, does NOT dictate US policy. At least not all by himself. While ha has a lot of latitude in foreign policy, Congress gets a say as well (advice and consent, anyone?), and in particular has the power to declare war.

    So, Couch boy, as no one seems to have informed you, in a debate or argument you’re not supposed to be making your opponent’s point.

    2
  30. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Jay L. Gischer: Many if not nearly all of us often hear what we want to hear. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden are all loudly Christian (for Democrats) and empathetically anti-Trump, as are almost all black American Democrats, elected (Sen. Rafael Warnock) and unelected. Is there demographic in the country more consistently churchy and more consistently anti-Trump, antifascist, and anti-supremacist than black Americans?

    (Incidentally, black Americans remain churched up because places of worship led both the abolitionist movement and the Civil Rights Movement.)

    1
  31. drj Avatar
    drj

    @Kingdaddy:

    That said, as Steven pointed out, there are a lot of priests, ministers, pastors, and the like among the protestors. They’re a very visible, regular presence.

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there are quite a few more on the side of the blasphemous rapist, though. (What a time to be alive.)

    I think it is reasonable to say that there is something deeply, systemically rotten in American Christianity – even by its own nominal standards.

    1
  32. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @drj:

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there are quite a few more on the side of the blasphemous rapist, though.

    There are waaay too many, to be sure.

    But, to Kingdaddy’s point, it is unfair to tar the whole religion as a result.

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