President Vs. Pope

Tensions escalated between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV as both leaders publicly traded sharp criticism over the Iran conflict.

The confrontation was sparked by a CNN interview in which Leo, the first American-born pontiff, called for an “off-ramp” to end the conflict and pressed for negotiations. The comments followed an intensified push for peace by the pope during Holy Week and Easter.

In a lengthy Truth Social post Sunday evening, Trump sharply criticised the pontiff, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” 

“I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote, adding that he is “not a fan” of Leo and accusing him of undermining U.S. leadership.

Trump went further, claiming the pontiff’s selection as pope was orchestrated specifically to manage the American president. “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,” Trump wrote, adding, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

Vatican official Fr. Antonio Spadaro pushed back against Trump’s remarks on X, saying the president was targeting “a moral voice” he “cannot contain.” He argued that Trump’s decision to single out the pope by name revealed his influence rather than diminishing it. “If Leo were irrelevant, he wouldn’t merit a word,” Spadaro wrote. “Instead, he is called out, named, fought: a sign that his word cuts deep.”

The pope addressed the criticism directly Monday morning, speaking to reporters aboard his plane at the start of a 10-day trip to Africa.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do,” he said. “We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it. But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

The pope last week condemned Trump’s threat that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” hours before a ceasefire was struck with Iran, calling the rhetoric “truly unacceptable.” On Palm Sunday, the pope declared: “Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.”

Leo has previously criticised U.S. military operations. After American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, he called for the “will of the Venezuelan people” to be respected.