President Donald Trump launched a broadside at Pope Leo on Sunday night on Truth Social, just days after the administration and the Vatican worked to repair their public-facing relationship.
In a lengthy post, Trump said Pope Leo is “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” and accused him of not caring when Churches were shut down during the pandemic.
Trump’s attack came amid Pope Leo’s public opposition to the war with Iran and calls for world peace.
Pope Leo responded to the president’s post, stating, “I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’”
He added, “I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”
Trump added fuel to the fire by reposting what appeared to be an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick.
The president’s post about Pope Leo and depiction of himself as Jesus lead to condemnation from Christians.
Women’s sports activist Riley Gaines wrote on X, “I cannot understand why he’d post this … God shall not be mocked.”
Conservative Christian activist Sean Feucht said, “This should be deleted immediately. There’s no context where this is acceptable.”
The post also follows a story from The Free Press that claimed Trump officials tacitly threatened and bullied Pope Leo’s former ambassador to the U.S. in a February meeting. The Pentagon and the Vatican both released statements claiming that the details of the meeting were fabrications. The statements, which were released in relatively short succession, seemed to quell rumors that the Trump administration was feuding with the Vatican, however, Trump’s attack on Pope Leo has complicated that picture.
There are also questions surrounding the potential political ramifications of Trump’s comments. The president won the majority of Catholic voters in 2024 after losing them to former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Working class Catholics were an especially important part of Trump’s winning coalition.
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