Donald Trump’s latest clash with Pope Leo did not just trigger headlines. It handed late-night hosts a fresh target, and Stephen Colbert wasted no time making the hit count.
The uproar followed Trump’s Truth Social attack on Pope Leo, where he called the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” after Leo criticized the war with Iran. The post quickly drew backlash, and Colbert turned that outrage into one of the sharper lines of the night. Citing an Italian historian, he said, “not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.” Trump’s post did in fact accuse Leo of being weak on crime and foreign policy, while Leo later said he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would keep speaking out for peace.
Stephen Colbert Goes In on Trump’s Pope Rant
On ‘The Late Show’, Colbert mocked the idea of Trump picking a fight with the pope at all. After quoting Trump’s “weak on crime” line, Colbert fired back that the pope visits people in jail, which made the insult sound even stranger. Entertainment Weekly and Variety both reported that Colbert described Trump’s post as the sort of attack few leaders had made so openly against a pontiff, then twisted the absurdity further by joking that if someone thought Trump should be “more discreet and respectful,” that sounded like advice better aimed at dictators.
The feud only looked worse after Trump also posted and later deleted an AI-generated image of himself styled like a messianic figure, prompting more ridicule from late-night hosts. Reuters reported that the image added to the backlash already building around Trump’s criticism of Leo.
Jimmy Kimmel and Others Ask the Obvious Question
Jimmy Kimmel went for the simpler angle, asking why Trump was even dragging the pope into a crime argument in the first place. Variety summarized Kimmel’s point bluntly: What does the pope have to do with crime? He is not Batman. That line worked because the attack itself already looked wildly mismatched. Pope Leo’s actual position has centered on opposing war with Iran and calling for peace, not weighing in as some kind of law-and-order figure.
Leo, for his part, has tried to cool the spectacle without backing off his views. Reuters reported that he later downplayed the idea of a personal feud, saying it was “not in my interest” to debate Trump directly, even while reaffirming his opposition to war and the global arms race.
That left Trump looking isolated in a fight he started himself. The pope kept talking about peace. Colbert and Kimmel turned the rant into punch lines. And the internet got yet another Trump meltdown to chew on.
