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By Hollie Silverman
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Pope Leo XIV said it was “not in my interest at all” to debate President Donald Trump over the Iran war, telling reporters aboard the papal plane between Cameroon and Angola he would continue preaching a Gospel message of peace, the Associated Press reported.
The pope addressed the media on Saturday during an 11-day tour of Africa, saying coverage of his remarks had been driven by a political narrative after Trump criticized his preaching, while stressing his message was not directed at the president but reflected the broader Christian call to peace.
Trump criticized the pope's message on Truth Social on April 12 as the war raged, accusing the pope of being soft on crime, cozy with the left, and claiming the first American pontiff owed his election to him.
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Why It Matters
The feud comes with the two leaders being starkly divided over the president's approach to the Iran war. The first American-born pope strongly condemned the conflict in the Middle East and the "delusion of omnipotence" that caused it, saying this had led to "absurd and inhuman violence."
Leo’s decision to avoid direct confrontation with Trump while emphasizing a universal peace message underscores the Vatican’s effort to speak to multiple conflicts worldwide—including the ongoing war in Ukraine—without centering any one political leader.
What To Know
After Leo had said earlier this month a “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the Iran war, Trump told reporters he was “not a big fan” of the pope.
In recent comments surrounding Trump's statements on the war, the pope suggested political leaders should avoid language that fuels division.
The president quickly pushed back, dismissing the remarks as out of touch and accusing Leo of misunderstanding the realities facing the United States. In response, Leo doubled down on his message, emphasizing that compassion and human dignity must remain central to any nation’s policies. He reiterated that the Church’s role is to speak to moral principles, not partisan politics, and suggested leaders have a responsibility to temper their words in ways that promote unity.
What the Pope Has Said
Speaking to reporters en route from Yaounde, Cameroon, to Luanda, Angola, the pope said, “There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself.”
Leo said coverage had framed his previously prepared Africa remarks as a response to Trump even though the text—criticizing a “handful of tyrants” fueling war and exploitation—was drafted two weeks earlier.
“And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all,” Leo explained.
The pope has repeatedly called for peace and dialogue and denounced using religion to justify warfare, specifically calling Trump’s threat to “annihilate Iranian civilization” as “truly unacceptable.”
The Vatican has emphasized that Leo’s addresses concern wars worldwide, not solely Iran, noting debates over religious framing in other theaters, including justifications offered by the Russian Orthodox Church for the invasion of Ukraine.
Leo arrived later Saturday in Angola, the third stop on his four-nation tour, where he planned to meet President João Lourenço and deliver his first speech before government authorities to encourage Angolans after decades of conflict.
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Trump Fallout After Pope Comments
Late Sunday, after a 60 Minutes interview with three senior American cardinals close to Leo, Trump published a Truth Social tirade calling the Pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
He also accused the cardinals of electing an American pope only “to deal with” him. Minutes after that, he posted an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of himself dressed as Christ, healing a sick person.
The now‑deleted social media post received swift backlash from across the aisle, including former Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene describing the post as "blasphemy."
Other fallout has included a cancellation of an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities by the Trump administration, which the Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski questioned, saying in part, "Why this funding was cut off is a mystery to us, but I can say it's not because of the recent dustup between the Pope and President [Donald] Trump."
The HHS said the cancellation was motivated by a falling number of migrant children entering the country without parents or adult supervisors. In a statement to Newsweek, HHS said the daily population of unaccompanied alien children in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) care was significantly lower at 1,900 than the peak of 22,000 children during the Biden administration.
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