President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary attack on Pope Leo XIV Sunday night, calling the first American pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in a lengthy Truth Social post — the latest and most personal escalation in a feud between two of the most powerful figures in the world.
An Unprecedented Clash
The dispute between Trump and Leo marks an unprecedented moment in American history: never before has a sitting U.S. president been in open conflict with an American pope. The feud cuts across religion, foreign policy, and domestic politics, and carries significant implications for the roughly 70 million Catholics in the United States.
Experts say it represents a broader inflection point for American Christianity, pitting Trump’s nationalist politics against the Catholic Church’s centuries-old tradition of international humanitarian norms.
Background on the Feud
Trump’s post followed Leo’s denunciation over the weekend of the “delusion of omnipotence” fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, in which the pope demanded political leaders stop fighting and negotiate peace. While Leo did not name Trump or the United States directly, his message was widely interpreted as aimed at the administration.
Sunday’s post was not the first sign of strain between Washington and the Vatican. NBC Chicago, citing a source close to Leo, reported that a January meeting between Vatican diplomat Cardinal Christophe Pierre and senior Pentagon officials was “most unpleasant and confrontational.” The Free Press, which first reported the meeting’s details, said Pierre was told the Vatican should align itself with Trump’s military posture. One U.S. official reportedly invoked the Avignon Papacy — a historical period when French monarchs used military force to bring the papacy to heel. Vatican officials subsequently canceled a planned U.S. visit by Leo, according to the outlet.
The Department of Defense pushed back on that characterization, calling it “highly exaggerated and distorted” and describing the meeting as “cordial.” The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See said media accounts amounted to “deliberate misrepresentation.”
Leo has not shied away from direct confrontation. When Trump wrote on social media that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet a U.S. deadline, Leo responded: “This is truly unacceptable.”
Speaking to reporters after Air Force One landed outside Washington from Florida on Sunday, Trump said, “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon,” adding, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
Trump’s Full Truth Social Post
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday night:
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! 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. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
What Happens Next
Pope Leo is scheduled to depart Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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