US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized Pope Leo XIV for his stance on the Iran war, describing him as “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy, in a late-night post which also saw him uploading an A.I.-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus.
This comes days after Pope Leo said Trump’s warning that an “entire civilisation will die tonight,” in reference to Iran, was “unacceptable.” The pope has also suggested that a “delusion of omnipotence” is fuelling the war between the United States and Iran.
In his lengthy Truth Social post, the president said he does not “want a Pope who criticises the President of the United States”. He claimed that the Catholic Church’s leadership had been “arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggested that he preferred the pope’s brother.
The president went on to suggest that his own election played a role in the Catholic Church’s choice of pope in May 2025.
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” the president wrote.
“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.”
Trump added: “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.”
After putting the Pope on blast, Trump uploaded an A.I.-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus and healing the sick, while flanked by eagles, fighter jets, and the Statue of Liberty, following criticism over his earlier remarks about the Pope.
