Is Nothing Sacred?
Allison Silberberg's Plain Talk
Is Nothing Sacred?
By Allison Silberberg
April 13, 2026
Is there anything left that is sacred to President Donald Trump?
Today, barely a week after his profanity-laced Easter message, Trump posted an image of himself as Jesus Christ.
He posted this outlandish image while he has literally caused untold suffering for millions around our country and around the world with his war of choice in Iran.
Also this morning, Trump posted a horrible diatribe where he viciously attacked Pope Leo, who has been speaking out for peace. Trump’s attack against Pope Leo could put the Pope at risk or cause him to be intimidated. But the Pope, who grew up in Chicago and thankfully is tougher and more resilient than a Chicago Bears linebacker, immediately responded with calm resolve, pushing back and stating unequivocally that he is not afraid. Pope Leo said in response, “I have no fear of the Trump administration….” His courage and faith are inspiring. Trump picked the wrong person to bully! Pope Leo is having none of it.
With that post, Trump has now insulted and/or outraged Catholics across our land and around the world. People of all faiths are horrified and have spoken out. I am not Catholic and I find this completely despicable.
This afternoon, Trump took down his post of the image showing himself as Jesus but he has left up his post against Pope Leo. Imagine the conversation at the White House today regarding what to do when they should be focused on domestic and foreign policy. Talk about another unforced error!
Trump’s behavior is bizarre and unhinged. There is no other way to describe it. He is our nation’s unabashed version of Archie Bunker with outlandish posts, comments, and actions. President Archie Bunker is in charge of our country and has his finger on the so-called nuclear buttons. In addition, our nation’s children are watching, absorbing, and learning. Trump is sowing chaos into the American conscience.
The Republicans, who are currently in charge of both houses of Congress, have basically abdicated their role and responsibility. They are so fearful of Trump’s wrath that most do not speak out. Many of their poll numbers are sinking. The midterms cannot come soon enough.
When Trump posts such meanness and threats against Pope Leo as he did today, his idea of leadership is not helpful to building a cohesive nation or an inter-connected world, and it’s not helpful to growing our nation’s economy. His leadership is one of ever-present chaos and instability, putting our business community at risk. Of course, the business community craves predictability and stability. We all do. We have the opposite with Mr. Chaos at the helm.
Trump’s cruel attack on Pope Leo and religion is in another league and part of a larger threatening storm. Trump and some in his administration, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have been promoting the importance of Christianity and White Nation in spite of the fact that we are a nation of many religions. Hegseth even connected his Christian Nationalist viewpoint with the war in Iran, and has often framed our nation’s military power in relation to the Crusades. He even has a tattoo referencing the Crusades.
Hegseth has also gone much farther by using anti-Catholic rhetoric in many statements and actions, including the exclusion of Catholic services at the Pentagon. On April 3rd, 2026, the Pentagon Memorial Chapel held a Protestant-only Good Friday service. The Catholic personnel and leaders in our armed forces were stunned. No one could recall any such exclusion in the past. All of this is going on while tens of thousands of our personnel are in harm’s way in the Middle East. Imagine how our Catholic enlisted men and women in the armed forces must feel while they await orders regarding Iran. I wonder what Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Catholics on the Supreme Court and in the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill think about all of this.
The separation of church and state is crucial and fundamental to who we are as a nation. While the separation of church and state has been under assault for many years, Trump and his administration have taken it to another level.
Today’s news reminded me of what President George Washington wrote in a letter in August of 1790 to the Touro Synagogue, a Jewish congregation founded in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. President Washington stated in his profound letter that the United States would give “[to] bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” This pledge demonstrated and promised that the Jews would be equal citizens with rights and helped establish the idea of religious freedom for all religions in our country. In part, this letter helped pave the way for our nation’s Bill of Rights, which was ratified in 1791.
From the birth of our nation and even prior to its birth, we were a melting pot, a nation of immigrants with different religions. “To bigotry, no sanction,” Washington proclaimed.
By the time our nation was born, we were already a nation of immigrants: those who were hoping for freedom, better opportunities, and a better life for their children. Nearly 100 years later, in 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a phenomenal gift from the French, was officially dedicated. She proudly and beautifully stands in the New York harbor to this day, welcoming “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Emma Lazarus, a Jewish-American poet whose family had immigrated to America, wrote those immortal words.
How we treat others and other religions should be sacred. Today, it was not. Under Trump, the sacred is no longer protected, but rather discarded and trampled.
We all need to remember that with a nation of wealth, power, and military might must come responsibility. How we use our might and our words is critical to our nation’s success and survival. Trump and Hegseth and others in the administration have forgotten this if they ever knew it. This recklessness is not only putting our nation and world in harm’s way; it is quickly extinguishing our American standing and leadership in the world as a beacon on the hill. It will take a miracle to rebuild all the relationships and trust built carefully over more than a century. Attacking other religions and their leaders, such as Pope Leo, undermines who we are and what we stand for. We must demand far better from our nation’s leaders.
Stop the madness. Stop the chaos. Stop attacking Pope Leo. And Trump should stop portraying himself as Jesus.
#Trump #ChaosInAmerica #PopeLeo #SaveOurDemocracy #ReligiousFreedom #Constitution #NoKings #Iran #StopTheMadness
Allison Silberberg is a writer and public affairs/public policy consultant. She served as mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, 2016-2019. Her work includes working on staff on Capitol Hill for Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen (D-TX). She is the author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World,” which hit #1 on Amazon’s List for Philanthropy & Charity. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, on PBS.org. To learn more, please visit: www.allisonsilberberg.com
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