In today’s Trump news, President Trump blasted Pope Leo
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- Trump also claimed that Pope Leo supports Iran having nuclear weapons, a claim the pope has not made, and said he did not want “a pope who criticizes the president of the United States,” adding that Leo was not on anyone’s list to become pope before the conclave.
- Pope Leo responded from a plane to Algeria, saying: “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking loudly about the message of the Gospel,” and vowed to continue calling for peace regardless of pressure from the White House.
- The confrontation sparked criticism from European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally, who said it was “right and natural” for the Pope to call for peace and condemned Trump’s comments as unacceptable.
Today’s Trump news focuses on the most public rift between a US president and the sitting pope in modern history, which began with Leo’s Palm Sunday call for peace during the Iran War and escalated over the week into direct personal attacks back and forth via social media and a news conference.
Liu, who was born in Chicago and elected in April 2025, has become increasingly direct since the United States and Israel launched the campaign against Iran. He condemned Trump’s speech before the strike as attacks against civilian populations that violate international law, urged Americans to contact their representatives in Congress, and said on Palm Sunday: “Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, and whom no one can use to justify war.” Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have invoked God to frame the war in religious terms, something Liu has pointedly and repeatedly rejected.
Trump’s escalation began with a Social Truth post that described Liu as “weak on crime, terrible on foreign policy.” He told reporters he didn’t think Leo was doing a “very good job” and said “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.” He also posted an AI-generated image depicting himself in a Christ-like pose with light emanating from his fingers, which drew criticism from evangelical allies and was later deleted. Trump said he believed the photo depicted him as a doctor.
Tuesday night, Trump posted again: “Can someone tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 completely innocent and unarmed protesters in the last two months.” He claimed that Liu was in favor of Iran having nuclear weapons, a position Liu did not mention. He said he did not want a pope “who says crime is acceptable in our cities.”
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loud about the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, and what the church came here to do,” Liu responded on his plane to Algeria, the first stop on an 11-day African tour.
Why did the confrontation escalate?
Elise Ann Allen, a Catholic reporter based in Rome, said Trump appeared to “feel threatened by Leo’s emergence as a stronger figure on the international stage,” adding that Trump needed to be careful because “it was moderate Catholics who got him elected in both elections.”
The hostility intersects with Iran cease-fire It expires on April 22, which is closely watched by cryptocurrency markets as a binary risk event. Extending the ceasefire would likely maintain current risk conditions; The collapse would resurface the geopolitical volatility that led to Bitcoin’s initial sell-off from its October 2025 highs.
What it means for the political environment
Pope Leo has become an important voice in the international coalition of actors urging the United States to seek a diplomatic solution. His African tour framing the conflict as part of a pattern of strongmen “ruining the world” increases the pressure of moral authority on the administration at the same moment it is running the Iran nuclear talks, Repair encryption The legislative agenda and the midterm electoral environment, as Catholic voters in swing districts remain a critical constituency.
