Pope Leo XIV Goes Viral With 1-Word Reply About The U.S.

As Pope Leo XIV walked through a crowd at the Vatican on Monday, NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman asked the new pontiff if he had “any message for the United States.”

“Many,” Leo replied with a smile.

Then, after a short pause, he added: “God bless you all.”

The short exchange — which went viral on social media ― came as the first U.S.-born pope delivered a powerful address to thousands of journalists.

Watch here:

Leo called in his speech for the protection of “the precious gift of free speech and the press” and urged reporters to “disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred.”

“We do not need loud, forceful communication,” the pope added, “but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice.”

Some people on social media interpreted Leo’s one-word reply — “many” — as a possible jab at Donald Trump, noting the pontiff’s past criticism of the U.S. president and his top allies.

In 2015, Leo (then a bishop) shared an opinion piece from The Washington Post by Cardinal Timothy Dolan titled “Why Donald Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Is So Problematic.” Trump at the time was early in his first presidential run.

More recently, in February, the now-pope posted on social media an article critical of Trump’s vice president, headlined: “JD Vance Is Wrong: Jesus Doesn’t Ask Us To Rank Our Love For Others.”

Leo is yet to directly address Trump since he was elected pope last week.

Trump, for his part, has predictably tried to insert himself into the narrative of Leo’s conclave victory by apparently trying to take credit for it.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Pope Leo XIV’s title from 2015. He was a bishop at that time.