Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the popemobile after the Easter Mass as part of the Holy Week celebrations, at St Peter’s square in the Vatican on April 5, 2026.
Alberto Pizzoli | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Sunday bashed Pope Leo XIV over the U.S.-born Catholic pontiff’s criticism of the U.S. war in Iran.
The president said he does not “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,” in a Truth Social post.
Trump linked the pope’s ascension to his return to office as president.
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump said. “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.”
Trump said Leo is “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,” referring to a recent meeting between the pope and President Barack Obama’s former political aide.
Leo, the first U.S.-born pope who hails from Chicago, has condemned Trump’s war effort with Iran.
“Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with the display of force! Enough with war! True strength is manifested in serving life,” Leo said on Saturday, according to CBS News.
The pontiff also said it was “truly unacceptable” for Trump to make a recent threat that he would destroy “an entire civilization” in Iran.
Leo responded to Trump’s criticism on Monday, saying, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
He added that he doesn’t want to “get into a debate” with Trump and that he doesn’t look at his role as “being political.”
“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” Leo said in comments to Reuters as he boarded a flight to Algiers at the start of a 10-day tour to four African countries. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
He told reporters aboard the plane that, “I have no fear of the Trump administration.”
Leo also used his Easter message to call for peace.
“Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” he said.
Catholic leaders have slammed Trump on immigration
Leo and other church leaders have also at times been sharply critical of Trump’s domestic immigration policies.
The pontiff endorsed a November message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who said they are “disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”
“We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures,” the bishops wrote. “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together.”
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the bishops conference, condemned Trump’s takedown of Leo in a statement.
“I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” Coakley said late Sunday. “Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
