One week after he threated to end Iran as a civilization, U.S. President Donald Trump went after Pope Leo via social media.
Relations between the White House and the Vatican already were strained, as the pope has soundly criticized Trump’s attacks on Iran and disdain for immigrants and the poor.
In a 334-word post on his Truth Social platform April 12, Trump called Leo “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.”
Trump claimed: “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 10 and even 20 feet apart.”
U.S. President Donald Trump attends UFC 327 at Kaseya Center on April 11, 2026 in Miami. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)
Trump himself was president during the worst of the COVID pandemic, and there is no evidence of churchgoers being arrested while attending outdoor services. Citations were given in a few cases where pastors denied the reality of the pandemic and held indoor services in violation of local ordinances.
In slamming Leo, Trump said he likes the pope’s brother, Louis, “much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”
Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, is a Florida-based Navy veteran known for his strong support of Trump’s MAGA movement.
Trump, who never has been Catholic, continued his derision of Pope Leo: “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.”
None of Trump’s accusations against the pope are true. Leo never has said Iran should have nuclear weapons. There is no evidence Venezuela was sending “massive amounts of drugs” to the U.S. or emptying its prisons of murderers, drug dealers and killers. These are favorite Trump talking points to rally his base but are not founded in evidence.
According to Fortune magazine, the initial 100 days of Trump’s second term (2025) were marked as one of the weakest early performances for a president in decades due to trade volatility.
And there is no evidence Leo was elected pope in response to Trump. In fact, Trump was campaigning for a different candidate, himself. And if not himself, then Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
In a final long salvo, Trump added: “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!”
Both Pope Leo and his predecessor, Pope Francis, have publicly rebuked U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a convert to conservative Catholicism, for wrongly explaining Catholic theology.
On Monday, Pope Leo told reporters: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel, which is what the church works for. We are not politicians. We do not look at foreign policy from the same perspective that he may have.’
He added: ”I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.”