Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance welcomed Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, to the White House on May 20, in a meeting that reflected both the personal ties and political alignments now reaching across Vatican and U.S. leadership.
The visit came just two days after Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass at the Vatican, where Louis—an openly pro-Trump Navy veteran based in Florida—sat beside Second Lady Usha Vance during the ceremony. According to Margo Martin, Trump’s special assistant and communications adviser, the meeting in the Oval Office was a “great one,” sharing a photo on X showing the president and vice president alongside Louis and his wife, Deborah Prevost.
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters he was excited to meet the pope’s brother, saying:
“I like the pope and I like the pope’s brother… He lives in Florida, he’s got MAGA, he’s got Trump. I want to shake his hand. I want to give him a big hug.”
Louis Prevost, a longtime resident of Port Charlotte, has openly embraced the "MAGA" label, posting regularly in support of Trump and conservative causes. But since his younger brother became pope—elected as Pope Leo XIV and the first U.S.-born pontiff—Louis has tempered his online tone. In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, he acknowledged that his past social media posts were sometimes “off-color,” and said he would now “tone it down.”
“I don’t need to create heat for him,” Louis said. “He’s going to have enough to handle as it is without the press going, ‘The pope’s brother says this.’”
While noting that Leo is “much more liberal” than he is, Louis clarified that he doesn’t consider his brother “woke,” describing the new pope as someone likely to lead “down the middle.”
Trump’s admiration for Leo and his family appears genuine. When the U.S. delegation met Pope Leo in Rome, Vance personally handed the pontiff a letter from Trump inviting him to the White House—a visit Leo reportedly said he would make “at some point.”
Louis, for his part, told reporters he was overwhelmed when the conclave elected his brother:
“I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts.”
The White House meeting not only underscored Trump’s growing engagement with the Vatican but also highlighted the unique dynamic between American politics and the global Catholic Church during a historic papacy.
(Sources: Kim Luciani, USA Today; Tyler Arnold, CNA; Kate Scanlon, NCR; Agence France-Presse)