'Pope Leo is WEAK': Trump launches unprecedented attack on Pope over Iran War; posts image depicting himself as Jesus

US President Donald Trump launched a sweeping and deeply personal assault on Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, targeting the first American pope over his criticism of US military action in Iran and Venezuela, an extraordinary public feud between the leader of the free world and the leader of the Catholic Church.

Trump Attacks Pope Leo XIV

The attack came in a lengthy post on Truth Social, followed swiftly by remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump arrived aboard Air Force One. In both instances, the president was unsparing.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote, in what became the defining line of a tirade that ran to several hundred words and touched on immigration, nuclear weapons, Venezuela, COVID-era church closures and the pope's brother.

Speaking to reporters shortly afterwards, Trump was equally blunt. "I don't think he's doing a very good job," he said, adding, "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo."

The remarks marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between the White House and the Vatican that began when Leo publicly condemned the US-led war on Iran. This conflict has reshaped the geopolitical order across the Middle East and beyond.

What Triggered Trump's Attack on Pope Leo XIV

The immediate provocation appears to have been a prayer service Leo presided over at St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan during a fragile ceasefire.

Without naming Trump or the United States, Leo denounced the "delusion of omnipotence" driving the conflict and demanded that political leaders halt hostilities and negotiate peace.

Pope Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan, and as a fragile ceasefire held.

The first US-born pope didn’t mention the United States or Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of American military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

In the first weeks of the war, the Chicago-born Leo was initially reluctant to condemn the violence and limited his comments to muted appeals for peace and dialogue. But Leo stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. And this week, he said Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable” and called for dialogue to prevail.

The Vatican is particularly concerned about the spillover of Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in the south.

Trump's Full Tirade: Iran, Venezuela, COVID and the Pope's Brother

The post was remarkable both for its length and for the range of grievances it catalogued. Trump accused Leo of defending Iran's right to develop nuclear weapons, of opposing US military action against Venezuela, which Trump described as “a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,” and of failing to speak out when governments restricted religious gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He talks about '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 arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart," Trump wrote.

In a passage that drew immediate attention, Trump claimed credit for Leo's elevation to the papacy itself. "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican," he wrote, asserting that the Church had selected an American pope specifically to manage relations with his administration.

He then turned to Leo's brother, Louis, offering a pointed comparison. "I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn't."

Trump also criticised Leo for meeting with David Axelrod, the Democratic strategist and former adviser to Barack Obama, whom Trump described as "a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested."

Trump Says He Was Elected to Act — and Will Not Be Lectured by the Vatican

At the core of Trump's argument was a defence of his electoral mandate and a rejection of papal authority over American foreign policy.

"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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History," he wrote.

He concluded with a direct instruction to the head of the world's largest Christian denomination: "Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It's hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it's hurting the Catholic Church."

READ THE FULL TEXT OF DONALD TRUMP'S POST

Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “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 arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. 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 and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And 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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. 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. Unfortunately, Leo’s 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. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP

The Iran War: Geopolitical Context Behind the Trump-Vatican Clash

The US-led military campaign against Iran, conducted alongside Israel, grew out of a protracted standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme. The two allies launched air strikes against the Iranian military, leadership and energy infrastructure.

The conflict triggered a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil normally flows. Trump's administration has justified its war on Iran on security and ideological grounds, with the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, framing it in explicitly religious terms, a posture that has drawn sharp criticism from European allies and, most visibly, from the Vatican.

Venezuela Sanctions and the Immigration Dispute Fuelling the Feud

Iran is not the only fault line between the White House and Rome. Trump's administration has tightened sanctions on Venezuela and authorised direct military pressure on Caracas, secured the abduction and subsequent arrest of President Nicolás Maduro himself, on charges of narco-trafficking and the deliberate export of convicted criminals to the United States. The Venezuelan government has denounced the arrest as an illegal act of imperial aggression; Washington has framed it as long-overdue accountability.

The Catholic Church has a deep-rooted presence in Venezuela, and the Vatican has long advocated for its civilian population.