Former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist has spilled on his secretive meeting with Pope Leo XIV, shedding light on a visit that has raised eyebrows.
David Axelrod sat down the first American-born pontiff on Thursday in a meeting that reportedly overran, delaying Leo’s next appointment by roughly 30 minutes.
His visit added intrigue to a meeting that had sparked speculation about whether Obama himself could soon secure an audience with the Chicago-born pope, before President Donald Trump does. Obama said in February that he hopes to meet the pontiff “sometime in the future.”
The timing also drew scrutiny, as it coincided with a report by The Free Press that Pentagon officials had berated Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s top diplomat to the U.S., over Leo’s criticism of Trump’s warmongering.
According to the report, senior officials Elbridge Colby, a Catholic who serves as undersecretary of defense for policy, warned Pierre that the pontiff “better take its side.”
Asked by Politico’s Shia Kapos what brought Axelrod to the Vatican, the Democrat remained cagey, but gushed over the pontiff, who succeeded the late Pope Francis.
“All I can say is that I requested the audience and this was set months ago,” Axelrod, who is Jewish, told Kapos, describing the meeting as “very personal” and adding that he was “a great admirer.”
Axelrod’s visit unfolded against a widening public rift between Leo and Trump over the president’s decision on Feb. 28 to launch coordinated strikes with Israel against Iran.
This week, Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran refused to reopen Strait of Hormuz within 12 hours. In response, Leo denounced the conflict as “unjust” and said Trump’s threats were “truly unacceptable.”
“People want peace,” the pontiff said. “I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen to ask them tell them to work for peace and to reject war always.”
The president later U-turned on his threat and announced a two-week ceasefire.
Leo has also kept his distance from Washington, declining an invitation from the White House to attend the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations this summer.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
