Last week on the Piers Morgan show Uncensored, President Donald Trump‘s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, a conservative Catholic, discussed the Roman Catholic Cardinals who were being considered to replace Pope Francis. Bannon said American Cardinal Prevost, who has since become the new Roman Catholic Pope and has chosen the name Leo XIV, was a “dark horse” and “one of the most progressive.”
Bannon added: “The American church gives so much money, they’re afraid it has too much power, so they’ve never really wanted to have an American pope. My understanding is Prevost is one of the ones closest to Francis ideologically.”
(NOTE: Pope Francis made Prevost a Cardinal, though nearly 80% of the Cardinals voting for his replacement were also appointed by Francis, who was Pope for 12 years beginning in 2013.)
Steve Bannon on the next pope about a week ago: “I do think one of the dark horses, and unfortunately one of the most progressive, is Cardinal Prevost.” pic.twitter.com/7I5q8PXhQM
— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@WojPawelczyk) May 8, 2025
On Thursday, after Prevost was introduced as the new pope, Bannon responded to the news on X with three words, “Worst pick ever.”
Worst Pick Ever https://t.co/lXMSRI7CWX
— STEVE BANNON
(@Stevebannon_sk) May 8, 2025
Bannon is receiving backlash from American Catholics including former Fox News editor Peter J. Hasson, who replied: “Who knows what kind of pope Leo XIV will turn out to be, but it’s pretty rich for thrice-married Steve Bannon to present himself as the authority on what makes a good Catholic, much less a good pope.”
Bannon made his papal pick known, telling Morgan: “I’m a big believer that Cardinal Sarah from Africa would be a perfect selection right now in this moment in the church.”
Note: Cardinal Robert Sarah (born in then French Guinea) addressed the U.S. National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in 2016, and said “God is being eroded, eclipsed, [and] liquidated” in the United States because of legal changes being adopted “in the name of ‘tolerance.’”
Sarah also cited “the legalization of same-sex marriage, the obligation to accept contraception within health care programs, and even ‘bathroom bills’ that allow men to use the women’s restrooms and locker rooms.” He asked: “Should not a biological man use the men’s restroom?