Summary of this article
Trump calls Pope Leo XIV “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
The Pope had condemned Trump’s threat against Iran as “unacceptable” and raised moral concerns.
The clash highlights divisions over nuclear policy, war rhetoric, and migrant treatment.
US President Donald Trump has criticised Pope Leo XIV on social media after the first American pontiff condemned his threat against Iran.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the Pope is “terrible for foreign policy.”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Listing a number of other complaints, he described Pope Leo as “weak on crime” and “weak on nuclear weapons.”
The remarks come days after Pope Leo criticised Trump’s warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” unless Iran agreed to a deal to end the war.
Calling the statement “truly unacceptable,” the Pope said, “There are certainly questions of international law, but much more than that, it is a moral question.”
He added that threats to destroy Iranian civilisation were unacceptable and called for “deep reflection” on the treatment of migrants in the United States under the Trump administration.
“Leo should get his act together as Pope,” Trump wrote, later telling reporters he was “not a big fan” of the pontiff.
