Trump lashes out at Pope Leo XIV for his stance on Iran

The president Donald Trump on Sunday sharply criticized Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's criticism of the war in Iran, saying he finds it impossible to agree with a religious leader who has no problem seeing the Islamic theocracy with nuclear weapons or who disagrees with Washington over the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. "I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. 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 and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And 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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

"Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He 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. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. 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!," Trump added.

Trump told reporters he is "no fan" of Pope Leo XIV.

Shortly after the release, speaking to reporters after landing Air Force One outside Washington from Florida, Trump said, "I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess. We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t a Pope that says crime is ok He’s a very liberal person. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo."

Trump's remarks came after Pope Leo XIV over the weekend denounced the "illusion of omnipotence" that he said is fueling the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, and called on political leaders to stop the conflict and negotiate peace.

The president's words come just days after the Pentagon addressed the controversy between the Catholic Church and the White House over a meeting between Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and senior Defense Department officials last January. The Free Press, through journalist Mattia Ferraresi, had reported that the War Department confronted the Holy See over Pope Leo XIV's rhetoric on the Trump Administration's foreign policy. However, the Pentagon itself used the social network X to downplay the report, calling the meeting "respectful and reasonable."