In the long term, I don’t pretend to say this is what I will and will not do,” he said. American pope on U.S. politicsPope Leo XIV also spoke about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk, while insisting that he does not want to take part in political battles. The Chicago-born pope suggested that his background gives him an advantage in dealing with other Americans, including members of the Church. Elon Musk, inequality, and artificial intelligencePope Leo XIV also mentioned Elon Musk, reserving some of his sharpest words for economic disparities and the potential “crisis” that could result from the rise of artificial intelligence. In the book, Pope Leo, a longtime missionary in Peru before he was pope, underlines that the Church’s primary mission remains spiritual, not political.