Dallas megachurch pastor believes Donald Trump ‘has a better understanding of the Bible’ than Pope Leo XIV

Donald Trump only worships one being: Donald Trump. Sure, he might claim to be Christian, but he doesn’t regularly attend church, can’t name a single Bible verse, and obviously isn’t familiar with Christian philosophy and thinking. Plus, y’know, there’s the awkward fact that every day he violates each of the seven deadly sins.

Some evangelicals must genuinely believe God is acting through Trump in a (very) mysterious way, but these people aren’t all idiots, and most know deep down that he’s not a godly man. But so long as he cracks down on women’s rights and terrorizes LGBTQ people, they’ll shrug and look the other way when he compares himself to Christ or commits various other acts of blasphemy.

But sometimes the lie slips. Enter Pastor Robert Jeffress, televangelist and senior pastor of the First Baptist megachurch in Dallas, Texas. He’s a fervent Trump supporter, so how does he square Trump’s atheist evils with his beliefs?

Speaking on Fox News as Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV (who is proving to be quite the thorn in Trump’s side), Jeffress indicated Trump is closer to God than the Pope:

Pastor Robert Jeffress: "It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches than the Pope" pic.twitter.com/TMSyTmdeTE

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 9, 2026

Three days after this conflict began I was in the Oval Office with President Trump and a few other faith leaders, and he told us that Iran was within weeks of getting a powerful weapon that would destroy Israel, much of the Middle East, it could bring great harm to America and he had no choice but to act.”

Here’s the crazy thing, pastor. Donald Trump – who has a great claim of being the most notorious liar on planet Earth – was lying to you. Iran was not “within weeks” of getting a nuke, it’s insane to think they were considering a missile strike on the continental United States, and he absolutely DID have a choice whether to act. And he made the wrong choice!

Pope Trump I

Jeffress thanked Trump “for having the courage to fulfil his God-given responsibility to protect our nation”, despite having just made Americans both poorer and less safe. Then came the cherry on top:

“It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the pope has.”

Does it, though? Does it really? Because all available evidence suggests Trump’s knowledge of the contents of the Bible begins and ends with his own signature.

Please don’t come away thinking Jeffress is this deluded about Trump’s godliness. He’s not a moron, but he thinks the Fox News viewers watching him very much are. He knows they’ll swallow whatever nonsense he spouts about Trump’s Christianity, up to and including arguing that Trump’s biblical studies exceed the pope.