The Pope warns of the latest conflict between the Trump Administration and the Vatican
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum opened a new forum Tuesday in the Trump administration’s public spat with the Vatican, dismissing Pope Leo XIV’s warning about artificial intelligence as the White House resists new measures to guard against the rapidly advancing technology.
“I didn’t know that tech planning was part of the role of being pope,” Burgum said in an interview on Fox Business, referring to Leo’s first book, a 42,300-word book that called for stronger oversight of AI and warned that technology could displace workers, deepen inequality and put lethal weapons decisions beyond human control.
But Vice President JD Vance, the most senior Catholic in the Trump administration and one of the most prominent links to Silicon Valley, in an interview with NBC praised the same message as “profound” and the kind of “moral leadership” the church should provide at the beginning of the AI era.
The divisive response underscores the delicate politics facing President Donald Trump as he makes AI governance and deregulation central to his second-term economic agenda while navigating a growing public feud with America’s first pope.
“The vice president now seems to be backing away from earlier criticism that Pope Leo needs to learn more about theology,” said Peter Casarella, a professor of theological education at Duke Divinity School who studies AI. “They went forward on their skis and paddled back.”
Leo’s comments followed Trump’s decision last week to reverse an executive order that would have created a voluntary AI security review process. Reversing course after pressure from the tech industry, Trump expressed concern that oversight could reduce the US’s competitive edge against China.
Some Catholics also warn that unchecked AI could overtake policymakers and worsen problems tied to work, children and family life.
“The so-called tech right, which is tying the White House to doing something meaningful, I think will be exposed as a mistake,” said Michael Toscano, director of the Family First Technology Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, which supports the pope’s push for other AI safeguards. “I think the real danger is between now and November” when the US will hold elections.
The AI battle is the latest milestone in the growing battle between the White House and the Vatican.
In the year since he became Pope, Leo has criticized Trump’s mass deportations, criticized the administration’s war on Iran and declined an invitation to join Trump’s “Peace Board,” saying the United Nations should remain central to crisis management.
Meanwhile, Trump personally attacked Leo as “weak on crime” and “bad on foreign policy,” while accusing the pope of feeding the “radical left.” Trump also posted a photo that appears to portray himself as Jesus Christ caring for a sick man. Leo responded that he “has no fear of the Trump administration.”
The issuance of the encyclical added another political ally. Leo issued the document alongside Christopher Olah, the founder of Anthropic, an AI juggernaut already opposed to the Trump administration after refusing to give the US military unrestricted access to its technology.
Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.
“Discussions between the pope and the prime ministers of the industry are unprecedented,” said Paolo Carozza, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who co-chaired the meeting. Meta Supervisory Board and Pope Francis-appointed member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. “It’s a good sign for a lot of people.”
For Trump, conflicts with the Pope could create tension with Catholic voters, who are an important part of Trump’s coalition. Trump won 55% of Catholic voters in 2024, compared to 43% for Kamala Harris, according to the Pew Research Center. Four years earlier, Catholics were split almost evenly, with 50% supporting Joe Biden and 49% supporting Trump.
A public spat with the pope is unlikely to quickly erode Catholic support for Trump. Many hardline Catholics stand with him on abortion, religious freedom and cultural issues.
But repeated conflicts with Leo on immigration, war and now AI could matter to Catholic voters who are not strongly committed to either party, especially if the conflict centers on workers, families and economic power.
“When you combine inflation, gas, war with Iran and all of this, it’s more reason to lose voters in his camp who didn’t really want to be there in the first place,” said Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.
That tension could be especially important in the midterm elections, where Catholic voters may hold sway in swing states like Long Island, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where Republicans have made inroads, Burge said.
“The Republican Party has to be careful who it convicts and who it fires,” Burge told CNBC. “After white Christian voters, Catholics may be the most important voters for Republicans.”
Another danger is that Democrats, labor groups and AI security advocates could use Leo’s warning to argue that the administration is too dismissive of Silicon Valley and too dismissive of concerns for workers, families and national security.
“If I were a Democrat running in a heavily Catholic state mid-term, Trump’s comments mocking the Pope would be ads,” Burge said. “They write themselves.”
