US President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV
US President Donald Trump has publicly criticised Pope Leo XIV, saying he is “not a big fan” of the American pontiff following the pope’s appeal for peace amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The 70-year-old pope had urged world leaders to halt violence during a vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, telling worshippers: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
Reacting to the remarks on Sunday, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that he disagreed with the pontiff’s stance.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump said.
The US president also accused the pope of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon,” referencing tensions involving Iran.
Trump later reinforced his criticism in a post on Truth Social, writing: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
He added further: “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
The president also suggested that Leo’s election was politically motivated, saying the pontiff was chosen “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump added.
In a separate post, Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting himself dressed in red and white robes, appearing to heal a man while the American flag appeared behind him. The image followed previous AI-generated visuals shared by Trump and the White House, including one portraying the president dressed as the pope.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, Washington and the Vatican have downplayed suggestions of a diplomatic rift. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni dismissed reports that a senior Pentagon official reprimanded Cardinal Christophe Pierre, saying “the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way.”
However, tensions remain over the Trump administration’s hardline deportation policies, which Pope Leo described as “inhuman,” as well as disagreements over military action in the Middle East and Venezuela.
