John Prevost, a brother of Pope Leo XIV, opened up on Wednesday about how he and his pontiff sibling handle the MAGA politics of their older brother, Louis. The trio speaks on the phone every week, John confirmed to Erin Burnett during an appearance on CNN, and they “keep politics to a limit,” he revealed.
“At certain times the topic may come up, but nothing he may say is gonna change my opinion, and nothing I say is gonna change his opinion, so why discuss it?” John continued. “Just go on with what we’re doing, what’s new in our lives, where we’re going next, because there is that brother connection, and really, what brothers do not fight? You know? Families fight. But family is forever,” he added.
Burnett suggested people could take heart from the fact that they still communicate despite their political differences. Louis confirmed his support for Donald Trump soon after his brother became the first U.S.-born pope last May. “I’m a MAGA type, and I have my beliefs,” he told Piers Morgan after it emerged he’d shared offensive content targeting Democrats online. He later visited Trump at the White House.
Trump and Leo have since clashed publicly, with Trump attacking the pope over his opposition to the war with Iran and his criticism of U.S. immigration policies. Elsewhere in the interview, John confirmed the story that’s gone viral in recent days about the time his brother, as newly elected pope, was hung up on by a bank employee while trying to update his contact details on file.
“She said, ‘OK, what’s the bank account number?’” John told Burnett. “He gave it to her. ‘What is your Social Security number?’ He gave it to her. ‘What was your former address?’ He gave it to her. There were about four or five different questions. He gave them all to her.”
“It went on so long, I said, ‘You know, ma’am, it might be helpful for you to know you’re talking to my brother who’s in Rome right now,’” John continued. “‘You’re speaking with the pope.’” “She said, ‘Oh, really?’ And hung up,” said John. “And that was the end of the call.” Burnett asked John if she “just thought it was a prank.” “Prank call, sure,” John replied. “One of the provincials had to go into the bank and take care of it for him.”
