David Axelrod says his meeting with Pope Leo XIV had nothing to do with Obama

David Axelrod, former president Barack Obama’s senior adviser, issued a statement on X dismissing rumors that Thursday’s meeting between him and Pope Leo XIV was a prelude to a possible Pontifex-Obama summit.

“To be clear, I was pleased and honored that Pope Leo XIV granted my request for an audience and was happy to spend time with him last week,” Axelrod wrote.

“It was planned months ago and had nothing to do with any meeting they were going to have with President Obama,” his report concluded on Tuesday.

On top of this statement, Obama went public with his desire to meet Pope Leo. Obama-Biden White House alum Christopher Hale tweeted to X that there are “early discussions” about a potential candidate for one.

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Axelrod, now a CNN commentator, was responding to a video from his network in which conservative commentator Hal Lambert accused Pope Leo’s recent criticism of President Donald Trump and the war in Iran as politically motivated.

“David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week. They are talking about Obama coming to visit. Pope Leo is from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel,” said Lambert during a CNN panel show.

“Axelrod is Obama’s chief strategist. The Pope said he is not political. Why is he meeting with Obama’s chief strategist and the White House?” Lambert asked.

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In addition to being Obama’s top advisor in the White House, Axelrod was also the chief strategist for both Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns and was widely seen as the mastermind behind his successful run.

The veteran politician met with Pope Leo on April 9. The pope’s criticism of Trump’s military action preceded the meeting. He condemned both the actions of the military in Venezuela and Iran, telling the Palm Sunday church in March that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who are fighting a war.”

But one day after his meeting with Axelrod, Pope Leo wrote what appeared to be a direct rebuke to the administration.

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“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Lord of Peace, is never on the side of those who once carried the sword and today are dropping bombs,” Pope Leo wrote in an April 10 blog post on X.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media about the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as he leaves the papal residence to return to the Vatican, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, April 7, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

“Military actions will not create an environment of freedom or periods of peace, which only come from patiently encouraging coexistence and dialogue between people,” he concluded.

The post, which was followed by at least 10 direct or indirect references to war and peace in the five days since, came days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke about the rescue mission to save the downed pilot in Iran.

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“Shooted on Friday – good Friday – hidden in a cave – hole – all Saturday and rescued on Sunday,” Hegseth said. “A plane is leaving Iran as the sun rises on Easter Sunday, a reborn pilot. Every house is counted. A happy nation. God is good,” Hegseth said at an April 6 press conference.

Trump responded to Pope Leo’s comments, calling him “weak on crime and “bad on foreign policy,” in a Truth Social post.

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop feeding the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It hurts him a lot and, more importantly, it hurts the Catholic Church,” Trump wrote again.

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The rise of rhetoric has had an impact on the status of many politicians.

At that time President Barack Obama and David Axelrod were seen at the White House. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

“It’s not about when. It’s about why? David Axelrod is a powerful Democrat political strategist. That’s his job for the last 30 years. Millions of people would like a private audience with the Pope, but you’re meeting with a powerful strategist of the opposition to President Trump,” Lambert told Fox News Digital.

“This is about the midterms and trying to get Catholics to stand up to President Trump and the Republicans,” Lambert concluded.

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Besides angering the Pope, Trump also angered Christians in general after posting an AI-generated picture of himself on Truth Social that many viewed as claiming to be Jesus Christ.

Trump removed the photo and pleaded not guilty, saying he thought the photo portrayed him as a doctor.

“I sent it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and related to the Red Cross … which we support, and only fake news can come up,” Trump told reporters.

“As a Chicagoan, I’ve been looking forward to meeting Pope Leo since the moment he stepped out on the porch,” Axelrod told Fox News Digital.

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“My respect for him as a moral leader has grown from now on. The audience I requested was arranged months ago. No one had sent me and my duty was to visit him and pay my respects to him,” he concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vatican and a representative for Obama for comment but did not immediately receive a response.