Pope Leo
Tosin Ogunrinde
President Donald Trump escalated his feud with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, saying “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo” after the pontiff repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Speaking to reporters after landing outside Washington from Florida, Trump called the pope “very liberal,” “weak on crime,” and “terrible for foreign policy.
Trump took issue with Leo’s anti-war message delivered during a Saturday prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica. Leo warned against the “delusion of omnipotence” fueling the conflict and said the Kingdom of God has “no sword, no drone, no vengeance.” He added, “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” The pope did not name Trump, but his timing — hours after U.S. and Iranian officials began talks in Pakistan — made the target clear.
The clash intensified after Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran struck a deal by 8 p.m. Eastern on April 7. Leo called that threat “truly unacceptable” and a moral issue, saying attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. Trump responded on Truth Social that he doesn’t want “a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” or who criticizes him for “doing exactly what I was elected… to do.
Trump also accused the Vatican of political calculation. He wrote that Leo “wasn’t on any list to be Pope” and “was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.” He added, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” Speaking to reporters, he repeated: “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon… He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.
Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal. He criticized U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for invoking God to justify military action. “God does not bless any conflict,” Leo wrote on X. “Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.” On Palm Sunday he said, “Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.
The Vatican dispute has spilled into U.S. politics. Trump praised Leo’s brother Louis, calling him “all MAGA,” and criticized the pope for meeting with David Axelrod, a “LOSER from the Left.” The White House said Trump “has done more than any of his predecessors to save lives and resolve global conflicts,” and noted Vice President JD Vance attended Leo’s inaugural mass.
Catholic leaders and commentators note it’s rare for a pope to directly respond to a sitting U.S. president. Experts say Leo’s stance reflects long-standing church teaching on just war, not partisan politics. Leo has urged Catholics worldwide to contact political leaders to “work for peace and to reject war.
Trump maintains the criticism won’t change his course. “I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” he wrote, citing “Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.” Leo, meanwhile, continues to frame the Iran war as a “demonic cycle of evil” and has called for coexistence and dialogue instead of bombs.
