Fact Check: Did Trump say 'I am ready to fight Pope Leo' in a Truth Social post?
WASHINGTON, DC: A viral screenshot circulating on social media claimed President Donald Trump challenged Pope Leo XIV to a fight in a Truth Social post. The alleged message gained traction as crews built a UFC fighting cage on the White House South Lawn ahead of a June 14 event, prompting many users to question whether the post was authentic.
The purported screenshot spread across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, with commenters debating whether Trump had actually shared the message. Let's fact check the claim.
Claim: Viral screenshot appeared to show Trump challenging Pope Leo XIV to a fight
While the origin of the rumor remains unclear, a Facebook user named Denmark shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a Truth Social post from Trump calling for a fight with Pope Leo XIV.
The post shown in the screenshot read: "I am ready to fight Pope Leo in a CAFE FIGHT too! He acts like he is BETTER THAN ME!! He ranks himself above God! When I am done with him, they will BOTH be beneath me!!!"
The purported Trump post circulated online as crews were constructing a UFC fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House for a June 14 event marking Trump's 80th birthday. The claim also spread on Threads and Instagram.
The screenshot sparked speculation in the comments section. One commenter wrote, "I look forward to the day when we can have an adult in the White House again." Another wrote, "The frightening part is that the line between reality and satire is completely blurred." A third Facebook user commented, "The craziest part of this? I don’t know whether he actually posted it. Or not."
Fact Check: Trump did not share a Truth Social post about fighting Pope Leo XIV
The alleged screenshot did not show an authentic Truth Social post from Trump. Several pieces of evidence indicate that the image was fabricated and originally shared as satire.
A search for "Trump Pope Leo fight" did not uncover any credible news reports about Trump challenging Pope Leo XIV to a fight. Likewise, searches for "Pope Leo fight" on Truth Social and on Trump's official Truth Social account returned no results. The purported post does not appear on Trump's account, nor can it be found in searches of Trump's archived Truth Social posts using keywords such as "fight" or "pope."
The earliest version of the screenshot appears to have originated from a Facebook page called "Denmark." The page is not affiliated with the government of Denmark and is categorized by Facebook as a "digital creator." Notably, the post included the hashtag "#satire," indicating that it was intended as a joke rather than a genuine social media post. The same hashtag also appeared when the screenshot was later shared on Instagram.
The Facebook page posted the satirical screenshot on the same day it shared other fabricated content, including a fake Trump post challenging former President Joe Biden to a fight and an AI-generated image depicting a damaged White House lawn with a UFC octagon at its center. All of those posts carried the "#satire" label.
The image also contained several visual inconsistencies. The font did not match the style typically used on Truth Social, and the screenshot lacked standard features commonly seen on the platform, such as timestamps and interaction buttons. Taken together, these details show that the screenshot was not an authentic Truth Social post from Trump and that the claim is false.
