Jo Harper
13 April 2026•Update: 13 April 2026
A senior adviser to Polish President Karol Nawrocki, one of the US president’s closest allies in Europe, has accused Donald Trump of “insulting all Catholics” after he attacked Pope Leo XIV on social media and shared an image appearing to depict himself as Jesus, Polish media reported Monday.
Slawomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau and one of Nawrocki’s closest aides, wrote on US social media company X that Trump’s comments about the pope “exceed all norms.”
“President Trump’s post and the graphic attached to it regarding His Holiness Pope Leo XIV exceeds all norms and is an insult to the Vicar of Christ, and thus to all Catholics,” Cenckiewicz wrote.
The unusually sharp criticism highlights growing strains between Trump and some of his conservative allies in Poland, despite Nawrocki having built close ties with the US president since taking office last year.
Nawrocki, backed by the national-conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS), campaigned as an ally of Trump and visited the White House shortly after his election. Trump publicly endorsed him during last year’s presidential race, and both have generally aligned on migration, national sovereignty and opposition to the EU’s Green Deal.
The row began after Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV on his Truth Social platform, accusing him of being “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy” following papal criticism of recent US military action. Trump also suggested that Leo owed his election as pope to Trump’s own presidency.
“Leo should get his act together as Pope,” Trump wrote. Shortly afterwards, he shared an image that appeared to show him as Jesus healing a sick man.
The pope had earlier criticized US strikes on Iran and Trump’s rhetoric toward other countries, continuing the Vatican’s recent line of warning against escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
Cenckiewicz is among the most loyal members of Nawrocki’s inner circle and has often taken strongly pro-Trump positions. His criticism suggests that, for many on the Polish right, Catholic identity still sets limits on political loyalty to Trump.
The comments also expose a fault line within Poland’s conservative camp. PiS and Nawrocki have increasingly modeled themselves on Trump-style politics and have sought closer ties with his administration. But Poland remains one of Europe’s most Catholic countries, and criticism of the pope is politically sensitive even among many right-wing voters.
Nawrocki himself has not commented publicly on Trump’s remarks. However, he has previously defended Trump even during disputes with Poland’s government. Earlier this year, when the US ambassador to Warsaw criticized Sejm speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty for attacking Trump, Nawrocki sided with the ambassador and accused Czarzasty of damaging relations with the United States.
The dispute comes amid a broader political struggle between Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government over the courts, the Constitutional Tribunal and Poland’s relations with the EU.
