President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV’s war of words escalated to new heights this week, with the president taking direct aim at the pontiff in a fiery social media post. The commander-in-chief did not hold back in his assessment of the first American pope, unleashing a string of sharp criticisms that touched on everything from foreign policy to crime.
Donald Trump calls out Pope Leo in new post
President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on Pope Leo XIV on Sunday. He called the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in a lengthy Truth Social post. The remarks followed weeks of tension between the two leaders over U.S. military action in the Middle East.
Trump criticized the pope for speaking out against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. He wrote that he does not want “a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” Trump also took aim at Leo for condemning America’s actions in Venezuela.
“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote. He added that Leo “meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left.” Trump urged the pope to “stop catering to the Radical Left” and “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
Pope Leo last week called Trump’s threats to “wipe out” Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable.” He urged Americans to contact leaders and members of Congress to call for peace. Leo also criticized the administration’s immigration policies and lamented growing global indifference to violence in his Easter message.
Trump also claimed the Catholic Church only elected Leo because of his American nationality. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American,” he wrote. He added, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews he is “not a big fan of Pope Leo.” The Vatican did not respond to requests for comment.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
