Republican donor Hal Lambert set off a fiery exchange while participating in a CNN panel discussion on Monday about the feud between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV.
The pope recently criticized Trump over the war in Iran and his immigration enforcement policies.
During the discussion, Lambert said Pope Leo’s comments were “100 percent political" and that “This is all about trying to hurt President Trump’s Catholic vote during the midterms and Republicans during the midterms.”
Lambert pointed out that former Obama advisor David Axelrod visited the pope last week, suggesting that’s when he decided to attack the president.
One of the other guests reacted, saying, “Oh my God, the arrogance of this. There’s not a million Catholics in the world. They're all worried about Trump’s election in the midterms?”
“David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week,” Lambert continued. “They're talking about Obama going to visit Pope Leo. Pope Leo's from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel. All of a sudden?”
He added, “You have three cardinals come out today attacking the immigration policy — this is all about trying to get the Catholic vote against Trump.”
Lambert also slammed the pope for his hypocrisy. “When Iran killed 30,000-plus of their own citizens, he didn’t call out the Iranian regime at all,” he said. “He said we need to stop violence. That was very milquetoast…and yet he’s calling out the United States and Israel.”
🚨 HAL LAMBERT JUST CALLED IT OUT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 14, 2026
"David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo...all of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel."
"Axelrod is the chief strategist for Obama. The Pope was saying he's not political. Why is he… pic.twitter.com/AQ4vwcoLty
The pope previously criticized the Trump administration over the Iran war. He warned that Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die” in Iran was “truly unacceptable” and urged him to seek a peaceful solution instead of escalating military hostilities.
Trump responded in a post on Truth Social, saying the pope is “WEAK on Crime,” and “terrible” on foreign policy. He further stated, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and that Pope Leo “should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
The president also wrote, “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”
The pope on Monday responded, saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do.”
He also said he “will not enter into debate” and that “The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: Blessed are the peacemakers.”