How Pope Leo’s Call to ‘Disarm’ AI Clashes With Trump’s Tech-First Agenda
May 26, 2026
Over the past year, Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump have clashed several times in the press, including on the Iran War, nuclear weapons, and immigration. On Monday, Leo potentially opened a new front: AI.
Leo’s new encyclical Magnifica Humanitas—a 42,300-word open letter to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics about preserving dignity in a tech age—never mentions Trump at all. But across many sections, Leo offers pointed recommendations for reining in AI that directly contrast with theTrump’s administration embrace of the tech industry in his second term.
