Critics are putting President Donald Trump on blast after he attacked Pope Leo XIV in a Sunday night rant.
In a lengthy Truth Social post that ran more than 300 words, Trump slammed the pope for being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“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.”
Trump also took credit for the Chicago-born pope’s election, claiming the College of Cardinals selected the first-ever American pontiff last year because “they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
He repeated his grievances a little later when he spoke to reporters as he returned to Washington from Miami on Sunday night.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said. “He likes crime, I guess.”
He also called the pontiff “a very liberal person” and “a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”
“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he added.
Trump’s attack came after the pope repeatedly called for peace amid the ongoing war with Iran.
He did so again on Saturday.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said during an evening prayer service, according to The Associated Press. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
The pope did not mention Trump by name as he described the “delusion of omnipotence” as a threat to global stability, but the comments apparently triggered the president.
On Monday, the pope told Reuters he wasn’t going to get into a debate with Trump, but said he would continue to “speak out loudly against war.”
Trump’s critics fired back on X:
