GOP senators grow uncomfortable with Trump rhetoric, endgame for Iran

Senate Republicans facing worsening polls want President Trump to rein in his extreme rhetoric, which included an attack on Pope Leo XIV for being “WEAK on crime” and a threat to wipe out Iran’s civilization, and find a quick end to the conflict with Tehran.

GOP lawmakers are used to Trump’s hyperbolic style but want to distance themselves from his most incendiary comments as polls show Democrats have improving chances of picking up Republican-held seats in North Carolina, Ohio and Nebraska.

Trump lashed out at Leo, the first American pope, on Sunday night for criticizing his military actions against Iran and Venezuela, accusing him of “catering to the Radical Left.”  

Trump’s salvos against the leader of the Catholic Church, which counts more than 50 million members across the nation, got pushback on Monday from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

“I would leave the church alone,” Thune said.

That sentiment was echoed by other Republicans, who weren’t pleased with Trump’s fighting the Vatican.

“I think popes and presidents should stay in their respective lanes, it’s better for all of us,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

Cramer said he agreed with Thune’s advice that Trump should steer clear of fights with the Catholic leader.

“I agree that he should leave the church alone but the church should probably leave politics alone, too,” he said. “We happen to have an outspoken president and a pretty outspoken pope.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said that while Trump and Pope Leo have different priorities as president and religious leader, he thinks Trump’s attack went too far. 

“I thought, personally, that the approach that the president took in terms of directly attacking the pope was inappropriate,” he said.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, on Monday called Trump’s criticism of the pope “unacceptable,” and Democrats on Capitol Hill loudly condemned his comments.

“Donald Trump reached a new low when he insulted Pope Leo,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said on the Senate floor.

Schumer also ripped Trump for posting on social media an AI-generated image of himself as a Christlike figure healing a sick man.

Thune, when asked about Trump’s use of Christlike imagery to promote himself, quickly noted that the image had been taken down.

Several other Republicans said they were glad that Trump removed the potentially offensive image from his posts.

“It’s a rough-and-tumble world of politics, anybody can be open to criticism. But I was glad to see the president take down that post he made,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.).

Asked about how the war is being received in Montana, Daines said voters in his state see Iran as the main instigator of the conflict.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), asked about the Trump AI post, said: “I’m glad they took it down. I think he thought about it more and took it down. It’s a good decision.”

Trump insisted to reporters at the White House on Monday he thought the AI image depicted him as a doctor instead of a Christlike figure.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,” Trump told reporters outside of the Oval Office.

Trump’s bombshell post on Truth Social jabbing at the pope came a few days after he threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization.  

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back,” Trump mused on Truth Social.

That post came two days after Trump on Easter Sunday called on Iran’s regime to “Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

GOP lawmakers returning to Washington from the two-week Easter recess aren’t comfortable with Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, which has put them again on the defensive, but they are more concerned about finding a quick way to end the conflict, which has caused fuel and fertilizer prices to soar.

“His rhetoric is one thing. I always tell people, ‘Look at what he does.’ A lot of what he says is bargaining position, as I think he would describe it. Obviously, we want to get the best possible outcome with Iran right now,” Thune said Monday.

But the Senate GOP leader said he’s more focused on restoring the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has slowed to a trickle because of Iranian threats.

He argued the U.S. military and intelligence community is “way ahead of schedule” in destroying Iran’s military capability but emphasized the importance of “getting the strait opened permanently.”

Trump’s threat over the weekend to blockade the Strait of Hormuz sent stocks lower Monday morning, as investors fear the conflict with Iran could drag on for weeks longer after talks in Pakistan failed this weekend. Shares later rallied on optimism that Trump and Iran might strike a peace deal.

Senate Democrats plan to force another vote this week on an Iran war powers resolution that would force Trump to cease military action in the region.

Senate Republicans have voted three times to defeat a Democratic-sponsored war powers resolution, with libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) being the only Republican to vote for it. But cracks are beginning to show in the GOP conference as the conflict drags on.

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) says he will not support military action against Iran beyond 60 days without formal congressional approval of the strikes, warning the conflict could expand dramatically just as the Vietnam War did in the 1960s without action from Congress.

Curtis said the law clearly limits the president’s authority after 60 days of military action. 

“The War Powers Act of 1973 gives the president between the 60 and 90 days but it’s very clear after that it goes to Congress and that’s my expectation,” he said Monday. 

Asked if he’s worried about the conflict dragging on indefinitely, Curtis said: “I think everybody is worried.” 

Given growing concerns among GOP colleagues about how much longer the conflict may last, Senate Republican leaders have decided not to attempt to pass additional funding for the strikes against Iran in a budget reconciliation package they plan to bring to the floor as soon as next week.

Thune told reporters Monday that Senate Republicans will move a “skinny” budget resolution and acknowledged that there will likely need to be a more formal declaration by Congress before a major tranche of military funding can move forward.

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