Happy US birthday
Pope Leo – New leadership against Trump?
Updated July 3, 2026 – 11:36 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
For the 250th birthday of the USA, Pope Leo records a video – and addresses a sensitive topic. The New York mayor also offered symbolic congratulations.
Pope Leo XIV gave his homeland, the USAgave a message for the 250th birthday. As a “son of this great country,” he prayed that the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence would continue to guide the United States “in unity, justice and peace.” The church leader also pointed out the history of the USA as an immigration country – which could be seen as a tip against US President Trump, who is taking massive action against immigrants.
In his message, the Pope emphasized that the USA became a symbol of freedom because the country repeatedly enabled immigrants and their children to help shape the country’s future. Last year, Leo The White House sharply rejected the criticism.
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He prayed that the birthday could be an opportunity to return to the ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity and is characterized by generosity and goodness of heart.
The pontiff, who has met US President several times in the past Donald Trump had clashed, particularly emphasized the image of unity: “Unity gave strength to this dream that gave rise to the United States of America under God,” said Leo. Trump and the Republicans are accused by the Democrats, among others, of dividing the country.
Mamdani makes indirect criticism in birthday message
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also indirectly criticized the immigration policy of US President Donald Trump’s government during a speech on the occasion of the 250th birthday of the United States. “If you ask them, the more people America welcomes, the less it becomes,” said Mamdani, referring to “the powerful” and not mentioning Trump by name. “They will tell you that America only belongs to those with the right accent or the right skin color. They insist that the rest of us should be grateful for permission to visit.”
Mamdani – who has often sharply criticized Trump but has also met with him several times – sat at the speech at a desk that the first US President George Washington (1732-1799) once used. He was surrounded by naturalized immigrants holding US flags. Mamdani herself was not born in the USA, but in Ugandaand only received U.S. citizenship later in life.
