Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Trump both called the pope “weak” and took credit for him even being elected as the head of the Catholic Church.
When Pope Leo was elected as the head of the Catholic Church in May 2025, US President Donald Trump was quick to praise the first American pope ever.
“To have the Pope from America is a great honour,” Trump said, the BBC reported at the time when asked for reaction to the news.
But a lot can happen over the course of a year, and now Trump has unleashed an unprecedented attack on the religious leader.
“Weak”
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Donald Trump calls Pope Leo “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy”.
Trump goes on to state that he likes the Pope’s brother, Louis, better, as Louis is “all MAGA”, Trump wrote.
The president also takes credit for Pope Leo even being elected in the first place, stating that “if I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican”.
Article continues below.
Click to display external content from truthsocial,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Click to display external content from iFrames except google ads,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Why the U-turn?
Since being appointed, Pope Leo has been very vocal in his criticism of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
Friday, the Pope released a post on X, stating that “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
The Pope did not name the US, Israel or Iran, but the post was released the day before high-level negotiations in Pakistan between the US and Iran aimed at finding common ground to stop the conflict.
Article continues below.
Click to display external content from twitter,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Click to display external content from iFrames except google ads,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Read more about in our Privacy statement
Pope vows to continue to speak against war
Aboard the papal flight heading for Algiers, kicking off a 10-day tour in four African countries, the Pope was asked for a comment on Trump’s Truth Social rant.
“I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” Leo told Reuters as he greeted journalists on the plane, adding that he “will continue to speak out loudly against war”.
According to The Guardian, Donald Trump got 55% of the Catholic voters in the 2024 election.
Sources: Truth Social post from Donald Trump, X post from Pope Leo, Reuters, The Guardian
