During a press conference at Laughlin Bullhead International Airport in Arizona, former President Donald Trump addressed the recent cancer diagnosis of Pope Leo XIV. While offering well wishes, Trump quickly turned the conversation to his own political base, stating that the Pope's brother and sister-in-law are "big Trump supporters."
"I want to see Pope Leo get well," Trump said. "I hear the prognosis for that type of a problem — it’s cancer, it’s big stuff anytime you have cancer — but the prognosis seems to be good. I’ve watched, and we just want to wish him our love and our best wishes."
He then added, "His brother’s a friend of mine, he’s a great — he’s a fantastic guy. And his wife, you know, they’re big Trump supporters. They have MAGA all over their house, and I can say that his brother loves him a lot, loves the pope a lot, and that’s good. Good enough for me."
Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer, and has canceled all public events until October 20. The Vatican announced Tuesday that the surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung was successful, but did not disclose the stage of the cancer.
In April, Trump had previously expressed less than favorable views of Pope Leo XIV, stating on social media that the pontiff was "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." Trump also contrasted the Pope with his brother, Louis Prevost, whom he favored. "I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon," Trump wrote at the time. He further claimed, "If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican."
Louis Prevost, the Pope's brother, has been publicly supportive of the MAGA movement, sharing pro-Trump content on social media and meeting with Trump at the White House in May 2025. Prevost has also been critical of Democrats and the transgender community.