Franklin Graham Hopes Trump and Pope Will Meet – So the Pontiff Can ‘Thank the President’

(Photo by TIMON RAMBOER/Belga/Sipa USA)  (Photo by Eric Vandeville/Abaca/Sipa USA) (Sipa via AP Images)

Evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham said Thursday he hoped President Donald Trump might get the chance to meet with Pope Leo XIV, so that the pontiff could “thank the President” in a lengthy post dismissing outrage over the president’s now-deleted “Jesus” meme.

The comments came on the same day Pope Leo rebuked “those who manipulate religion and the very name of God” for “military, economic, and political gain” – echoing his recent calls for peace with Iran and condemnation of the rhetoric of military leaders.

Trump had attacked the pope in a Truth Social screed on Sunday, branding him as “WEAK.”

Graham took to X on Thursday to write: “I’m not a Catholic, I’m an evangelical, but I appreciate how President Trump has defended religious freedom for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in the U.S. and around the world. He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime, and he doesn’t shy away from it.”

“I would hope that the President and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the Pope would have the opportunity to thank the President for his efforts to protect religious liberty for Catholics and people of all faiths,” he added.

Graham’s post, however, primarily served to push back on criticism of the president over an image posted to Truth Social on Sunday and later deleted, which showed Trump in a white robe with a glowing hand placed on a hospital patient. The AI-generated image drew widespread backlash from supporters and political opponents alike.

The president later claimed he had believed the photo depicted him “as a doctor.”

“When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some,” Graham said of the image. “There were no spiritual references – no halo, there were no crosses, no angels.”

“I think this is a lot to do about nothing,” he said of the backlash. “There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad.”

The son of the late Billy Graham said he did not believe Trump “would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ — that would certainly be inappropriate,” adding he was “thankful the president has made it very clear” the image was misunderstood and removed.

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