President Donald Trump, seen here speaking to reporters Sunday at Joint Base Andrews, Md., has been sharply critical of Pope Leo and comments he has made about the war with Iran.
The second coming
That wasn't a depiction of Trump as Jesus, it was a portrayal of him as a doctor/Red Cross healer! No doubt many of his supporters believe his pathetic lies about the blasphemous, sick posting done in the wee hours. They are fine with it! Instead of eagles and fighter planes in the background art, there should have been renditions of Trump grabbing women by the crotch and yukking it up with Epstein. Truly, this man belongs in an institution for the mentally ill. He is unfit for any public office. How incredible that Republicans made such a big deal of Biden's mental decline, but remain silent on the glaringly obvious and worsening mental illness of Donald Trump. This deranged individual has his fingers on the nuclear buttons — just think about that! God help us.
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
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'Dictating American public policy'
Recently, Pope Leo spoke out against the war in Iran, saying the Christian mission had often been "distorted by a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ," and he also disagreed with the suggestion from the Trump administration that the war has divine sanction.
Vice President JD Vance, stated on Fox News on Monday that Pope Leo should stay out of American affairs, "And let the president of the U.S. stick to dictating American public policy."
Interesting choice of words we have here. Pope Leo is an American citizen. So, should I conclude that as a constituent of the President and the Vice President, neither the pope, nor I, nor the millions of other U.S. citizen constituents are allowed an opinion about this war? Is this the country we are now living in? A President who "dictates" policy and we all must fall in line?
Fran McNeely
Northeast side
Each voice is needed now
In school, we learned about checks and balances. Senate, courts, White House. We didn't learn about the situation we find ourselves in today, often with no checks, certainly no balance.
What's left? Our own voices can call out the unexpected failures of American policy. We may have the ability to help bridge this mess and get us to a time when all three branches, and new sets of advisers, can do their jobs.
Ford Burkhart
Midtown
Doctor Trump
On Easter, Pope Leo XIV gave the Urbi et Orbi to the Catholics of the world, condemning global conflicts and asking for peace. Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus in red and white robes bathed in divine light. In response to national outrage, he claimed the figure was a doctor. Looking closely, the image is blatantly not religious but sinister. The American flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the White House frame him. Instead of a host of angels, the Angel Lucifer with wings and horns (before God cast him out of heaven to become Satan) is leading soldiers in war. Below a U. S. eagle and squadron of fighters fly instead of doves. Soldiers and a nurse look on as Trump appears to heal a man with a golden power. I interpret it as a demonically possessed Trump resurrecting Jeffrey Epstein while Ghislaine looks on. Our presidency needs an urgent exorcism.
Tom Van Devender
North side
Iran's nuclear weapons program?
The president's loyal subject in Oro Valley must be exhausted from all the mental gymnastics it requires for him to rationalize Trump's actions. In his latest rant re Iran's nuclear weapons program, he's criticized democrats for their stance on Trump's reckless war, saying when he agreed to a cease fire, he was being weak. As he might recall, just last year, the president insisted his bombing campaign "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capability despite the assessment of his own agencies that it hadn't been. His latest attack appears ill-conceived and articulated with no clear goals. Perhaps Americans, not just democrats, would just like to understand what he hopes to achieve, other than distracting from the Epstein files.
Dennis Palmer
Foothills
Ciscomani's silence speaks volumes
Apparently, there are no limits to Juan Ciscomani's slavish loyalty to Donald Trump. Did Trump's genocidal threats on Easter Sunday prompt a push-back from the CD6 representative? Not a word. How about Trump's blasphemous (and ridiculous) AI post showing him as Jesus Christ? Nope, nothing. Rep. Ciscomani has allowed the head of his formerly 'Grand' party to desecrate our country's good name and most cherished principles. It seems that to Rep. Ciscomani, the only thing that counts is his own perceived political advantage.
Our current representative makes himself complicit in the war crimes that DJT would happily have our service members commit on our behalf. Ciscomani is a disgrace to our country, our state, and CD6. He needs to be voted out this November.
Susan McFadden
Foothills
250 and counting
Once there was a dream called “America”, which became a concept, an idea, then a reality. It would be a place for freedom, justice, and the recognition of rights not just granted and belonging to everyone. It took a long time to enact laws protecting these rights — e.g., if you were born here, this was your home.
Over the centuries, we have continued to strive for perfection, but of late, we are reaping the opposite. We are governed by those who have broken our laws, enriched themselves, rewarded their malefactors, punished the innocent, and sneered at those who have made the greatest of sacrifices; they will continue to do so for as long as they can.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of establishing a nation with liberty and justice for all, concepts the framers pledged their lives, property, and sacred honor to, let us examine if not just our leadership, but how we the people are living up to the cherished promise we made to ourselves and each other.
Wes Ward
Oro Valley
TEP is a greedy landlord
What if you got a loan to build a house, and then paid off that loan plus interest, but instead of ever owning the house, it would still be owned by the mortgage company? You'd say, "No way!"
But that's what Investor-Owned Utilities like TEP do. Investors pay for construction. Over time, we/ratepayers pay that off plus interest. But unlike with mortgage companies, we never get to own what we've paid for.
Instead, we also pay all ongoing operational costs, including fuel, repairs, maintenance, upgrades, administrative costs, and employee salaries.
They also charge us a profit, based on a percentage of the total value of the infrastructure (generators, pipelines, towers, wires, substations, etc.)! So, the more they spend on infrastructure, the bigger their profits. But we can't stop them, because they're the owners — not us.
We need a public-owned utility instead of a greedy TEP landlord!
Lee Stanfield
East side
Trump and Iran's nukes
Trump's justification for his Iran war is that “Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.” Remember Trump’s assurances that his “Operation Midnight Hammer” bombings on June 22, 2025, “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Remember that Trump’s National Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard, testified to Congress in March 2025 and again in March 2026 that Iran was not building nuclear weapons since the program was suspended in 2003. There was no threat justifying the war Trump started on Feb. 28, 2026.
On July 14, 2015, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany finalized an agreement with Iran that prohibited Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon and assured compliance by inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. On May 8, 2018, President Trump withdrew U.S. participation and terminated the agreement.
If and when Iran ever does build a nuclear weapon, the person responsible will be Donald J. Trump.
Brooks Keenan
Oro Valley
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