GOP candidate Bailey urges Trump to apologize to pope; bishop calls for dialogue

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – After President Donald Trump refused to apologize for his social media criticism of Pope Leo XIV, a leading Illinois Republican says it would be huge if the president admitted his mistake.

The president told reporters at the White House on Monday he would not apologize because the pope said things that were wrong.

“He went public. I’m just responding to Pope Leo. You know his brother is a big MAGA person and he’s a great guy, Louis. I said, ‘I like Louis better than I like the pope,’” Trump said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said in a social media post it was wrong for the president to mock the pope and to post an image of himself appearing to be like Jesus Christ.

On Tuesday, Bailey told The Center Square that the president’s posts were totally inappropriate.

“There’s no doubt about that. Secondly, we all make mistakes. We say things in the heat of the moment, and I know that firsthand. A simple apology and a little humility can go a long way to fixing that,” Bailey said.

Trump endorsed Bailey for governor in 2022 and urged the Xenia Republican to stay in the 2026 race after a helicopter crash claimed the lives of Bailey’s son Zachary, daughter-in-law Kelsey and grandchildren Vada Rose and Samuel last October.

“I think it would be huge if he would just back up, admit the mistake, call it as it is and apologize to the people, apologize to the Church and honestly, honestly, apologize to the pope,” Bailey said.

As a fellow Christian, Bailey said it is an honor to have the first pope from America, and he hoped Leo being from Chicago had nothing to do with the president’s disdain.

Diocese of Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron is an Illinois native who serves on the president’s Religious Liberty Commission.

In a social media post, Barron said he thinks the president owes the pope an apology and recommended that serious Catholics in the Trump administration meet with Vatican officials so a real dialogue can take place.

NBC Chicago reported that before he became pope, Robert Prevost voted in Illinois Republican primary elections in 2012, 2014 and 2016.