President Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, saying he didn't think the US-born global leader of the Catholic Church is "doing a very good job" and that "he's a very liberal person," while also suggesting the pontiff should "stop catering to the Radical Left," the AP reports. Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticize Leo, then kept it up after deplaning, in comments on the tarmac to reporters. "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo," he said. Trump's comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a "delusion of omnipotence" is fueling the US-Israel war in Iran.
While it's not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it's exceedingly rare for the pope to directly criticize a US leader—and Trump's stinging response is equally uncommon, if not more so. "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," the president wrote in his post, adding, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon." He repeated that sentiment in comments to reporters, saying, "We don't like a pope who says it's OK to have a nuclear weapon." He also suggested in the post that Leo only got his position "because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump."
Later, Trump posted a picture suggesting he had saint-like powers akin to those of Jesus Christ. Wearing a biblical-style robe, Trump is seen laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers, while a soldier, a nurse, a praying woman, and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on admiringly. The sky above is filled with eagles, an American flag, and vaporous images.
Before the ceasefire, when Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and other infrastructure and that "an entire civilization will die tonight," Leo described such sentiments as "truly unacceptable." In his social media post on Sunday night, however, Trump went far beyond the war in Iran in criticizing Leo. The president wrote, "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." That was a reference to the Trump administration having ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. "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," Trump added, referencing his 2024 election victory.
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