President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV in an unusual and direct attack against the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, intensifying tensions between the White House and the Vatican.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the pope as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy“, comments that sparked immediate reactions from religious figures and Catholic communities. These remarks appear to be a response to the pontiff’s recent criticisms of American policies, particularly regarding the Iranian conflict and immigration.
Pope Leo XIV, the first non-American pope, has increasingly spoken out against war, condemning what he called the “madness of war” and urging world leaders to seek diplomatic solutions. He has also questioned whether strict immigration policies align with Christian teachings.
As Trump states on Truth Social: “Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy. He talks about the ‘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 keeping priests, ministers, and everyone else, for holding religious services, even going outside, and being ten or even twenty feet away. I like his brother Louis much more than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo does not!”
