President Donald Trump lit into ABC News over the weekend after longtime anchor Martha Raddatz used her Sunday platform to suggest that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV might serve as a “counterbalance” to Trump’s administration. The moment, which aired during a segment on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” was a peculiar blend of spiritual conversation and partisan subtext — and Trump was having none of it.
The spark came as Raddatz interviewed Cardinal Blase Cupich, the influential Archbishop of Chicago. As the two discussed Pope Leo’s early priorities, Raddatz turned the conversation sharply political. “In some ways, will he be a counterbalance for what’s happening in American politics right now and President Trump?” she asked. Cupich didn’t shy away. “I think he’s going to help complete and complement our political agenda,” he responded, nodding to the Pope’s pro-immigrant stance.
Cardinal Cupich: Pope Leo Will Talk A Lot About Illegal Immigration
Martha Raddatz: In some ways will he be a counterbalance for what's happening in American politics right now and President Trump?
Cupich: I think he's going to help complete and compliment our political agenda.… pic.twitter.com/DQsnpxZ4Nx
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) May 11, 2025
For Trump, the inference that a newly elected pontiff was being framed as a foil to his presidency was pure media overreach. He took to Truth Social with a verbal sledgehammer, calling Raddatz an “old timer” clinging to a Trump-obsessed narrative, and rebranding her show with a devastating nickname: “the Slopadopolus show.”
“So funny to watch old timer Martha Raditz on ABC Fake News,” Trump wrote, mockingly misspelling Raddatz’s name before taking aim at the network’s sagging credibility. “It came out of nowhere, but it was on her Trump Deranged Mind.”
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 12, 2025
Then came the hammer. “Remember, I did WIN the Catholic Vote, by a lot!” Trump wrote, citing his strong performance among Catholic voters — a demographic that swung decisively in his favor during the 2024 election, particularly in Rust Belt swing states. That support helped Trump power through the electoral map, overcoming the Kamala Harris ticket with significant working-class and Catholic backing.
Trump also didn’t miss an opportunity to drag ABC News owner Disney and CEO Bob Iger into the fray, urging him to deal with the “losers and haters” he claimed were running the network’s dwindling lineup.
The swipe at Raddatz joins a long-running feud between the former president and the legacy media. Trump loyalists remember her 2016 on-air meltdown after Hillary Clinton’s defeat and her years of editorializing immigration enforcement efforts before Trump even took office.