Trump Escalates Clash With Pope Leão XIV as Vatican and Italy Push Back

Overview

• Following Sunday’s late-night posts on Truth Social, President Trump called the pope “weak” and “terrible” on foreign policy, made disputed claims about Iran, and shared an AI image casting himself in religious garb that he later removed.
• On Monday, Pope Leão XIV told reporters on a flight to Algeria that he does not fear the Trump administration and will keep speaking out against war, stressing the Church’s mission to promote peace and protect civilians.
• Vatican officials and U.S. Catholic leaders defended the pontiff’s role as a moral voice, with Father Antonio Spadaro saying Trump attacks what he cannot contain and the U.S. bishops’ chair urging respect for the pope’s Gospel-based message.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Trump’s remarks “unacceptable,” reflecting rare public pushback in Rome toward a sitting U.S. president’s criticism of the Bishop of Rome.
• In a follow-up interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera, Trump said the pope does not understand Iran’s nuclear threat and criticized Meloni, while reporting notes no public evidence for his claim that the pope backs an Iranian bomb.