US President Donald Trump refused to apologize to Pope Leo XIV, whom he criticized the day before, noting that the Pope was categorically against what Trump is doing in Iran, UNN reports.
Details
As Trump stated, he did not apologize to Pope Leo because he "said the wrong things."
"He was totally against what I'm doing with Iran, and there can be no nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result. Hundreds of millions of people will die, and that's not going to happen. So I can't, I think he's very weak on crime and other things… I'm just responding to Pope Leo. And, you know, his brother is a big MAGA supporter, and he's a great guy," Trump said.
Addition
Trump sharply criticized Pope Leo XIV, condemning his stance on the war with Iran.
"We don't like a Pope who will say it's okay to have nuclear weapons… He's a man who doesn't think we should mess with a country that wants to have nuclear weapons to blow up the world," he told reporters.
Also on Truth Social, Trump stated: "Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy. (…) I like his brother Louis much more than him, because Louis is just MAGA. He understands, and Leo doesn't! I don't want a Pope who thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that sent huge amounts of drugs to
the United States and, even worse, emptied their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and hitmen, into our country. And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States, because I am doing exactly what I was elected to do, in a landslide, setting record low crime rates and creating the greatest stock market in history."
"Leo should be grateful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He was not on any list for Pope, and the Church put him there only because he was American, and they thought it would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, 'Leo's weakness on crime, weakness on nuclear weapons' doesn't sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama supporters (…). Leo needs to get his act together as Pope, use common sense, stop pandering to the radical left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a politician. This is very damaging to him and, more importantly, it is damaging to the Catholic Church!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Leo has increasingly spoken out about the war, last week condemning Trump's rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as "totally unacceptable."
Father Spadaro stated that Trump cannot restrain the Pope's moral voice. The Pontiff emphasized that he is not afraid of the US administration and called for peace.
