Pope Leo XIV said U.S. President Donald Trump “does not fear chaos. He needs it. Martial law. Emergency powers. Democratic norms pushed aside. And then — no midterm elections … Destroying democracy to keep yourself out of prison — that is extreme.”
In late July 2026, a popular rumor claimed that Pope Leo XIV sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he was “destroying democracy.”
The rumor primarily spread on Facebook. A Facebook post claimed Leo made a speech in a room full of cameras. According to the post, Leo claimed Trump “needs chaos” and would bring “martial law” and “emergency powers” to the U.S. According to the post:
“Don’t you see what’s coming, or are you just afraid to say it out loud?” Pope Leo XIV said, his voice low, dry, and resolute as it carried across the hall.
The entire room fell silent. Cameras continued rolling as the air grew heavy. The Pope leaned slightly forward, his gaze sharp with the intensity of someone accustomed to confronting truths many would rather avoid. There was no shouting, no theatrics—only controlled seriousness and restrained anger.
“Listen to me very carefully,” he continued. “What is happening is not a coincidence. This chaos is not an accident. It is being created. It is being orchestrated.”
Someone from the organizing team tried to interject, but the Pope raised his hand—a small, clear gesture that left no room for evasion.
“Wait. This is no different from the crises humanity has faced before. When responsibility is abandoned, when institutions no longer protect the truth, that is when dangerous people exploit the power vacuum.”
He then referenced Donald T/r/u/m/p.
“D.o.n.a.l.d T.r.u.m.p does not fear chaos. He needs it.”
The Pope paused for a moment, allowing the weight of his words to settle over the room.
“Martial law. Emergency powers. Democratic norms pushed aside. And then—no midterm elections.”
A quiet voice murmured, “That sounds extreme.”
The Pope tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged.
“Extreme? Destroying democracy to keep yourself out of prison—that is extreme. Do you truly believe that someone facing impeachment and handcuffs will suddenly respect the rules of the game?”
The camera moved closer. He spoke slowly and clearly, each word sounding like a solemn warning.
“Watch him carefully. He is not trying to win an election. He is trying to erase it. And if people continue convincing themselves that this is impossible, they will wake up one day to soldiers in the streets and no ballot left to cast.”
(Facebook user HN News)
We found no evidence of Leo ever making such a statement about Trump. While Trump and Leo have exchanged words about each other, Leo has not used such harsh language as seen in the above post. As such, the comments above were incorrectly attributed to Leo.
We ran a search using variations of the quote on Bing (archived), Google, and DuckDuckGo (archived), and found no evidence of this incident in reliable media outlets. Given that there were cameras at this alleged event, we were also not able to find footage of Leo. If the comments were authentic, journalists with reputable news outlets such as The Associated Press or Reuters would have reported on them.
Some of the earliest examples of the claim appeared on Facebook groups “Sir David Attenborough Fans” and “Signs from our loved ones” on June 30. An almost identical version of the claim appeared on March 4, but attributed those words to Prince William.
This is not the first time false quotes have been attributed to Leo. As we have reported before, content creators rely on social media users’ willingness to click on and share false stories and quotes, thus profiting from advertising revenue on external websites to which the posts link. The Facebook posts also include links to articles that redirect to webpages that advertise different services, or prompt users to download unknown files.
GPTZero, a tool that aims to detect AI-generated text, determined with 100% certainty that the post’s caption was AI-generated. (We should note such AI detection tools are fallible and we caution people against using them for definitive answers.)
Trump and Leo have criticized each other, however. In a May 2026 Truth Social post, Trump said Leo was endangering Catholics with his views on Iran. Trump said Leo “thinks it’s fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” In response, Leo said the Catholic church has always opposed nuclear weapons, saying, “The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully.”
Snopes has previously reported on the false claim that Leo said about Trump: “Do not let power turn leaders into kings.”
