Jake Tapper Blasts Trump Team’s ‘Spring of Sacrilege’ After Pope Fight
jake tapper opened a sharp on-air critique of President Donald Trump and his team, focusing on a week of religiously charged messaging and an escalating fight with Pope Leo XIV. The commentary aired on Thursday and centered on Trump, Pope Leo XIV, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Tapper framed the moment as a “Spring of Sacrilege” after a series of statements and posts that drew heavy backlash.
Tapper centers the week’s religious flashpoints
The immediate trigger was a string of remarks and posts that put Trump’s team at the center of a religious controversy. The president began the week with a now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus, then ended it still locked in a feud with Pope Leo XIV. In between, Hegseth drew criticism for describing the press as “Pharisees” in a message aimed at Trump’s critics.
On Thursday’s edition of ’s The Lead, Tapper tore into that sequence and called Hegseth’s view of the press “warped. ” He argued that the comparison to the Pharisees suggested doubting Donald Trump was being treated as a kind of religious offense, not a journalistic responsibility.
Tapper then tied the week together as a broader pattern. “And frankly, what better way to cap off a spring of sacrilege by the Trump team, ” he said, before recapping the Pentagon prayer, the pope’s response, Trump’s Easter Sunday post, and the president’s later attack on the pontiff.
What Tapper said on air
Tapper’s criticism was direct and sustained, especially when he focused on the line between political rhetoric and religious symbolism. He mocked the idea that skepticism about Trump or Hegseth was equivalent to rejecting a miracle, and he said that view showed a distorted understanding of what the press is supposed to do.
Trump’s side of the exchange came into sharper view when he told reporters, “I’m all about the gospel. I’m about it as much as anybody can be. ” Tapper immediately signaled skepticism, saying, “Putting aside the fact check on whether or not he’s about the gospel as much as anybody can be…”
Jamie Gangel, a panel guest on the program, pushed back on the idea that Pope Leo XIV was defending nuclear weapons, saying the pope was speaking about peace and diplomacy. She added that Trump appeared to be backpedaling slightly after the criticism and said the president had made clear he was not fighting with the pope.
Trump, the pope, and the wider fallout
The feud intensified after Pope Leo XIV appeared to rebuke language used in a prayer at the Pentagon, saying, “God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have hands full of blood. ” Trump later posted an attack on the pope, and Hegseth’s remarks about “overwhelming violence” remained part of the broader backlash.
Tapper’s “Spring of Sacrilege” line was not just a punchline. It served as a summary of a week in which religious references, war rhetoric, and attacks on the press all collided in the same political moment. For Tapper, the issue was not only what was said, but how far the Trump team had pushed those symbols.
What happens next
The immediate question is whether the Trump team keeps pressing the pope, the press, and the same religious language that drew the backlash in the first place. The feud has already moved from a deleted post to a public exchange involving Trump, Pope Leo XIV, Hegseth, and on-air criticism from jake tapper, and it is likely to remain a live political flashpoint as long as both sides keep answering back.
