Trump Calls Pope Leo “Weak” and “Terrible”; Pope Says He Has No Fear

President Trump escalated a public dispute with Pope Leo XIV over the weekend, writing on Truth Social late Sunday that the pope is “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” On Monday, Leo said he has “no fear of the Trump administration,” CBS News and NBC News reported.

Mr. Trump told CBS News he had watched a “60 Minutes” report on the pope’s disapproval of mass deportations and the Iran war. In a phone interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, he said the pope is “wrong on the issues” and “I don’t think he should be getting into politics,” and that he would not call him. Asked about a possible U.S. visit, he said, “It’s up to him, not up to me,” according to CBS News. NBC News reported that Mr. Trump said, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess,” and, “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.” Mr. Trump also wrote, according to NBC News, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” CBS News said Mr. Trump claimed he has “done more for the Catholic Church than any president in the last hundred years.”

Speaking on the papal plane en route to Algeria, the first stop of an 11-day tour of four African countries, Leo said, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel,” NBC News reported. CBS News quoted him saying the church is not made of politicians and citing “Blessed are the peacemakers.” NBC News said he has continued to criticize the Iran war, including Mr. Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization, and said attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law.

A separate controversy compounded the feud. Late Sunday Mr. Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure, then deleted it. He said it depicted him as a doctor and that “People were confused,” CBS News reported. Conservative activist Riley Gaines said “a little humility would serve him well,” and Mr. Trump dismissed her, CBS News said. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally, called a post showing him with saint-like powers “more than blasphemy,” NBC News reported.

Church leaders pushed back. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by Mr. Trump’s remarks and that the pope “is not his rival,” NBC News reported. The president’s defenders note that he has long courted Catholic voters and, as he told CBS News, points to funding for church institutions during the pandemic.

NBC News noted that Mr. Trump had earlier called Leo’s election “an honor for our country.” Leo is the first American pope.