President Trump lashed out against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, calling him "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" and accusing him of "catering to the Radical Left."
The big picture: Trump's comments escalate already high tensions between the president and the first U.S.-born pope, who has increasingly spoken out on Trump administration immigration policies and the Iran war.
Driving the news: Trump attacked Leo in a lengthy Truth Social post one day after the Chicago-born pontiff denounced during a prayer vigil for peace what he called a "delusion of omnipotence" during the war.
What they're saying: Trump criticized the pope on matters including the Catholic Church's stance during the COVID pandemic and said he likes Leo's elder brother Louis Prevost "much better" than him because, he claimed, he's "all MAGA."
- "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela," Trump wrote in an apparent reference to Leo's January expression of concern for Venezuelans following the U.S. raid and ensuing capture of leader Nicolás Maduro in the South American country.
- Trump doubled down in his criticism in comments to reporters late Sunday, saying: "I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person."
Of note: Trump posted an AI image later Sunday of himself as a Jesus-like figure apparently healing a man in a bed surrounded by characters including a nurse and soldier, with a bald eagle flying above warplanes amid vaporous imagery.
The other side: The pope said during Saturday's vigil that prayers can "break the demonic cycle of evil" and the kingdom of God has "no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness."
- In keeping with his previous tone, Leo did not call out Trump or any U.S. official by name, but his message seemed directed at the president and his administration just as American and Iranian officials met in Pakistan for peace talks during the fragile two-week ceasefire.
- "It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive. The balance within the human family has been severely destabilized," Leo said during the vigil at St. Peter's Basilica.
- "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life."
- Representatives for the Vatican's press office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment early Monday local time.
Zoom in: Read Trump's post in full below:
Go deeper: Iran war tips Trump-Pope tension over the edge
Editor's note: Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that Trump made his comments about the pope on Sunday (not Wednesday).
