President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary broadside in opposition to Pope Leo XIV, saying he didn’t suppose the US-born chief of the Catholic church was “doing a very good job” and that he was “a very liberal person”, whereas additionally suggesting the pontiff ought to “stop catering to the Radical Left”.
Flying again to Washington from Florida on Sunday evening, Trump used a prolonged social media submit to sharply criticise Leo, then saved it up in feedback on the tarmac to reporters.
“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he mentioned.
Trump’s feedback got here after Leo urged over the weekend {that a} “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. While it’s common for popes and presidents to be at cross-purposes, it’s exceedingly uncommon for the pope to criticise a US chief – and Trump’s stinging response is equally unusual.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his submit, including: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
He repeated that sentiment in feedback to reporters, saying: “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”
Leo presided over a night prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica within the Vatican on Saturday, the identical day the US and Iran started face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan throughout a fragile ceasefire. The pope didn’t point out the US or Trump by identify, however his tone and message appeared to be directed at Trump and US officials, who’ve boasted of US navy superiority and justified the conflict in non secular phrases.
The pope, who’s scheduled to go away on Monday for an 11-day journey to Africa, has beforehand mentioned that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them”. He has additionally referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that “even though you make many prayers, I will not listen – your hands are full of blood”.
Before the ceasefire, when Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and other infrastructure and that “an entire civilization will die tonight”, Leo described such sentiments as “truly unacceptable”.
In his social media submit on Sunday evening, nonetheless, Trump went far past the conflict in Iran in criticising Leo. The president wrote: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States.” That was a reference to the Trump administration ousting the Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” Trump added, referencing his 2024 election victory.
Trump additionally urged within the submit that Leo solely obtained his place “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 wrote, including: “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”
In his subsequent feedback to reporters, Trump remained extremely vital, saying: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess”, including: “He’s a very liberal person.”
In the 2024 election, Trump received 55% of Catholic voters, based on AP VoteCast, an intensive survey of the voters. But Trump’s administration additionally has shut ties to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders and has claimed heavenly endorsement for the conflict on Iran.
The defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, urged Americans to hope for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ”. When Trump was requested whether or not he thought God authorised of the conflict, he mentioned: “I do, because God is good – because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”
