Trump says he’s not a big fan of Pope Leo after Iran criticism

Donald Trump’s swipe at Pope Leo XIV turned a foreign-policy dispute into a direct test of Vatican authority, after the first American pope condemned threats against Iran as “truly unacceptable” and warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. The exchange put the White House and the Holy See on opposite sides of a widening debate over war rhetoric, immigration and the moral limits of presidential power.

Trump said he was “not a big fan” of Leo after the pope criticized threats against the Iranian people and urged leaders back to the negotiating table. The president also called Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” in a lengthy Truth Social post, then told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that he did not want a pope who criticized the president of the United States or suggested it was acceptable to have a nuclear weapon. The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Leo’s comments carried unusual weight because he is not only the 267th pope but also the first American to hold the office. Born Robert F. Prevost in Chicago, he was elected on May 8, 2025, after white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. Rome time. Before becoming pope, he served as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops after years of missionary work in Peru, a background that gave him both global and American ties at a moment of heightened political strain.

The feud is unfolding against a broader break between Trump and Catholic leaders over immigration and the Iran war. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged Trump to step back from the brink after the president threatened to destroy a “whole civilization.” Coakley’s rebuke underscored the distance between nationalist war talk and Catholic teaching that emphasizes the protection of civilians, the dignity of human life and the search for negotiations over escalation.

The political stakes extend beyond Washington and Rome. For U.S. Catholic voters, especially those uneasy with hard-line rhetoric on war and immigration, Leo’s criticism could sharpen questions about whether Trump’s foreign policy posture fits the church’s moral framework. The tension also revives memories of earlier friction between Trump allies and Vatican officials, including a January 2026 Pentagon meeting with a Vatican diplomat that the Pentagon said had been mischaracterized as threatening and “grossly false and distorted.”