Fact Check: Did Trump ask his Catholic followers to start 'MAGA Reformation,' renounce Vatican?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the conflict with Iran, a rumor has been circulating on social media platforms claiming that Trump has asked his Catholic followers to renounce the Vatican and start a MAGA Reformation movement. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Donald Trump asks Catholics to start 'MAGA reformation'
The viral claim surfaced on X, stating, “BREAKING: After feuding for days with Pope Leo XIV, Donald Trump is reportedly threatening to demand all his Catholic fans start a 'MAGA Reformation,' renounce the Vatican, and start a competing branch of 'American Catholicism’ with its own US-based Pope that he wants to appoint.”
The post has garnered almost a million views and continues to go viral on other platforms such as Facebook and Threads.
Most of the comments under the post are critical of Trump for his remark, indicating that they believe the claim to be true.
Fact Check: Fake, the claim originated as a satire
The claim, however, is not true, as there is no official statement or credible evidence that shows Trump made the announcement.
A search on Google for relevant keywords yielded no credible reports by any prominent news media outlets.
If the claim were true, it would have been widely reported, even triggering debates and criticisms.
Moreover, the claim was first posted by an X account called ‘The Halfway Post,’ which describes itself in the bio as half true and satire.
The post also begins with ‘Breaking’ in all capital letters, which is a common feature of fake and clickbait online posts.
Donald Trump says disagreements with the Pope are fine
The series of attacks and counterattacks between Trump and Pope Leo XIV appears to be halting as Trump thinks disagreement is fine.
Dialing down his week-long feud with the pope, Trump said it was ok if two of them had different opinions and approaches towards world problems.
Over the week, Trump and Pope Leo exchanged barbs in statements to the press and on social media about the war with Iran. Trump called Pope ‘weak’ on crimes and nuclear weapons, and the Pontiff replied that he has “no fear” of speaking out.
“I’m not fighting with him,” Trump said. “The pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.”
