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Pope Leo XIV fired back after President Donald Trump attacked him on social media, saying his calls for peace are rooted in the Gospel and should not be treated as a political argument with the White House.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration,” the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane Monday en route to Algeria.
“The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician,” he added.
Trump had criticized the pope’s positions on Sunday in a scathing rebuke on Truth Social.
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Split of Pope Leo and Trump. (Photo: Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump began in a lengthy post.
“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,” he concluded.
The pope responded Monday, despite saying, “I will not enter into debate.”
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Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media on the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, as he leaves the papal residence to head back to the Vatican, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, April 7, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
“The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone,” he said, speaking in English, adding, “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” Leo added. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
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The pope’s stance against Trump’s peace efforts in the Middle East came after the president’s Sunday night Air Force One tarmac comments.
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters, echoing remarks from the Truth Social post. “We don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don’t like it.”
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump added. “He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the press upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on April 12, 2026, returning to Washington, D.C., after attending a UFC event and spending the weekend at his Trump National Doral Miami resort. (Jim Watson/AFP)
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Leo claimed he was speaking for the church and not himself or Iran.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo said. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
Trump claimed Leo has him to thank for being elevated to pope, the first American pope.
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“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “He gets it, and Leo doesn’t.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump said.