US President Donald Trump has said he is “not a big fan” of Pope Leo XIV following the pontiff’s call for peace amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump reacted to the pope’s remarks made a day earlier at St Peter’s Basilica, where he urged global leaders to end violence, declaring: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
In response, Trump criticised the pope, describing him as too liberal and questioning his stance on crime and global security.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump said.
He further accused the pontiff of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon,” and later reiterated his stance on social media, saying: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” he added.
Trump also suggested that the pope’s emergence was influenced by his nationality, stating that he was elected “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.”
In a separate post, Trump shared an AI-generated image portraying himself in religious attire, appearing to perform a healing act.
Despite the sharp remarks, both Washington and the Vatican have dismissed reports of a serious rift between them. A Vatican official denied claims that a senior US defence official reprimanded the Church’s envoy over the pope’s criticisms, stating that such reports were inaccurate.
Although both sides maintain that their engagements remain cordial, differences persist over key issues, including the US administration’s immigration policies and its approach to military actions in regions such as the Middle East and Venezuela.
The pope had earlier condemned threats of large-scale violence as “truly unacceptable” and called for renewed dialogue, even as diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran recently ended without resolution.