Did Donald Trump post on Truth Social that he has access to "the Vatican files", boasting he could "bring down the Papacy, the Vatican and the entire Catholic Church overnight"? No, that's not true: This is a fake post that never appeared on Truth Social. A search of Google News showed no reporting about this post being made or deleted.
The fake screenshot appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @PrincessBravato on April 19, 2026. It was captioned:
Did this pussy ass bitch just threaten the Pope with Vatican files when he wouldn't release the Epstein files?!? The president of the United States would do well if he didn't threaten the Catholic church. The Pope never once spread misinformation. Jesus wouldn't want peace through strength. Trump doesn't speak for Jesus. Trump wouldn't know the first thing about Jesus, but the Pope was elected to preach the word of the Gospel. Trump elected for 4 years. Pope elected for life. So shut the f*** up Trump! #TrumpEpsteinCoverUp
This is the image included with the post:
(Image source: @PrincessBravato post on X.)
The fake screenshot was made to look like an April 16, 2026 post from the verified @realDonaldTrump account on Truth Social. The text of the fake post says:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump Apr 16, 2026, 7:45 PM
As President of the United States, I have access to information that could bring down the Papacy, the Vatican and the entire Catholic Church overnight! These are called the Vatican files, which I won't release, out of respect for the BILLION catholics worldwide, but, the weak Pope Leo of Vatican would do well to remember who he has to answer to, if he continues to interfere in politics on behalf of the Terrorist Regime of Iran, the misinformation Pope spreads regarding the special combat operation is extremely dangerous! JESUS would have wanted PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, just like I do! Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and we will use our OVERWHELMING STRENGTH to make sure they never do! This the PATH TO PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter! -President DJT
At the time of writing, April 20, 2026, there is no post with this message on the @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account dated April 16, 2026. There is no reporting about this post being made or being deleted. A search of Google News for the term "Vatican files" (archived here) did not produce any relevant reporting about an April 16, 2026 Truth Social post from Trump.
Appearing in those search results was an April 17, 2026 AFP Fact Check article addressing a different fake Trump post circulating on social media (archived here). That fake post, dated April 15, 2026, began with the sentence, "It's no coincidence that this Pope is from the same city as that liberal dog Obama." and finished by ordering Todd Blanche to investigate the Catholic Church immediately. Lead Stories also debunked that post (archived here).
