Pope Leo cautions Trump on fracturing U.S.-Europe alliance
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Pope Leo XIV greet reporters at the end of their meeting at the Papal residence on Dec. 9. Photo: Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images
Pope Leo XIV warned the Trump administration against what he described as an effort to "break apart" the alliance between the U.S. and Europe.
The big picture: The Chicago-born pontiff has not shied away from criticizing the administration in the past, notably on immigration.
- He has called for a just and lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine, and did so again in his Tuesday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, per the Vatican's press office.
Driving the news: Asked if he believed the U.S.-proposed peace plan to settle the Russia-Ukraine war was fair, the pope told reporters that what he had seen "unfortunately" marked "a huge change in what was for many, many years a true alliance between Europe and the United States."
- Leo cited recent remarks made about Europe, presumably including the president's recent assessment of U.S. allies as "decaying," that he said are "trying to break apart what I think needs to be a very important alliance today and in the future."
- He added, "It has a number of things in it that I think while perhaps many people in the United States would be in agreement, I think many others would see things in a different way."
Catch up quick: In a wide-ranging interview with Politico's Dasha Burns, the president argued many European countries would "not be viable countries any longer," blaming immigration.
- His comments aligned with his administration's new national security strategy, dubbed the "'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine." It calls for prioritizing the cultivation of "resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations."
- It reads, "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation."
What they're saying: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Axios in a statement that the president "has great relationships with many European leaders, but he never shies away from delivering hard truths."
- She added, "The devastating impacts of unchecked migration, and those migrants' inability to assimilate, are not just a concern for President Trump, but for Europeans themselves, who have increasingly noted immigration as one of their top concerns."
Zoom in: According to a translation by the Vatican, Leo also stressed to reporters the importance of Europe's role in peace talks, saying it's unrealistic to try to reach a peace agreement without European involvement.
- "Unfortunately," he added, per the translation, "not everyone understands this, but I believe there is a great opportunity for the idea of Europe to come together and seek solutions collectively."
State of play: Amid growing tensions between the U.S. and European powers on how to end the war, Trump held a call Wednesday with the leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany.
- Zelensky is facing pressure to accept Trump's peace plan, which includes major territorial losses and other concessions, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
- "He's going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things," Trump said of Zelensky in the Politico interview. "You know, when you're losing, 'cause he's losing."
Go deeper: Trump's "Monroe Doctrine" bashes immigration and globalization
