Bill Maher slams ‘hypocritical liberals’ over Pope Leo support amid Trump feud

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Bill Maher is taking aim at the left for what he sees as a sudden, convenient love affair with the Vatican.

On Friday’s episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' the late-night host waded into the clash between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV.

Bill Maher slams liberals over Pope support

“I love hypocritical America. I really do,” Maher began, referring to what he called “hypocritical liberals” who have rushed to defend the Pope simply because he’s at odds with the president.

“See, liberals suddenly love the Pope,” Maher said. “The Pope, who two weeks ago was all in the headlines. You know why? Exorcisms.”

"Yeah, that's who the hell Pope is. Okay? A guy who does exorcism, doesn't believe in gay marriage. No women priests,” he added. “But now, because he's feuding with Trump, MSNBC loves this guy.”

The crowd laughed as Maher continued, “He's got a big speech on the floor from Chuck Schumer."

Trump clashes with Pope Leo

Maher’s commentary lands in the middle of an ongoing back-and-forth between Trump and Pope Leo XIV.

Trump recently blasted the pontiff as “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy,” and stirred outrage by posting an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

Trump told reporters, “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”

In a Truth Social post, he accused the Pope of being “weak on nuclear weapons” and declared, “If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican.” “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote.

“I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending massive amounts of drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our country,” he added.

Trump also claimed that Leo “criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.” The feud boiled over disagreements about the US-Israel war against Iran, with the Pope’s lack of support drawing Trump’s ire.

Pope Leo warns amid global tensions

The Pope didn’t exactly stay silent.

During a visit to Bamenda, a “bloodstained” region of Cameroon grappling with a nearly decade-long separatist insurgency, Leo appeared to deliver a thinly veiled swipe.

He warned that the world is “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants” and condemned “an endless cycle of destabilization and death.”

“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” Leo said. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also weighed in, calling Trump's insults “not acceptable." Meanwhile, JD Vance urged the Pope to “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”