President Trump Criticizes Pope Leo XIV Over Iran War Remarks
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President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo XIV, labeling him 'weak on crime' and 'terrible for foreign policy,' following the pontiff's condemnation of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo XIV, labeling him "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy," following the pontiff's condemnation of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump expressed his disapproval of the Pope's stance, stating, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon." He further accused Pope Leo of catering to the "Radical Left" and suggested that the Pope's election was influenced by his American nationality to better manage relations with the Trump administration.
These remarks came after Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, criticized the "delusion of omnipotence" fueling the conflict in Iran. During a prayer vigil at St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope called for an end to war, urging leaders to "sit at the tables of dialogue and mediation, not at the tables where rearmament is planned and death is deliberated."
The escalating exchange underscores a deepening rift between the U.S. administration and the Vatican over the approach to international conflicts, particularly in the Middle East.