President Trump extols Pope Leo XIV, brother Louis Prevost

With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 20, 2025 / 18:28 pm (CNA).

While speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he likes Pope Leo XIV and looks forward to meeting with the pope’s elder brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House.

“I like the pope and I like the pope’s brother,” Trump told reporters after meeting with House Republicans in an attempt to rally support behind a budget reconciliation bill.

Trump noted that the pope’s brother Louis “is a major MAGA fan,” alluding to the “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

“I look forward to getting him to the White House,” Trump said. “I want to shake his hand. I want to give him a big hug.”

Louis Prevost, a Florida resident, U.S. Navy veteran, and older brother to Leo, sat beside Second Lady Usha Vance at Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass on Sunday, May 18. He also joined Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio when the U.S. delegation met with Leo on Monday, May 19.

After Leo was elected, becoming the first U.S.-born pope, Louis Prevost did several media interviews expressing his happiness for his brother and confidence in his leadership. Later, some media outlets found social media posts by Louis that also evidenced strong support for Trump and criticism of Democrats.

In an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on May 12, Prevost responded to criticism he received in response to some of his derogatory comments about Democrats.

“I posted it and I wouldn’t have posted it if I didn’t kind of believe it,” Prevost said. “However, I had no idea that what was coming [Leo becoming pope] was coming this soon and I can tell you, since then, I’ve been very quiet, biting my tongue.”

“I don’t want to create waves that don’t need to be there because I’m a MAGA type and I have my beliefs,” he said. “I don’t need to create heat for [Leo]. He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going ‘the pope’s brother says this.’ He doesn’t need that.”

When the U.S. delegation met with Leo, Vance handed Pope Leo a letter from Trump that invited the pontiff to the United States for a meeting at the White House. Leo said he would make the visit “at some point.”

Vance told Leo “we’ll pray for you” and said: “As you can probably imagine, in the United States the people are extremely excited.”