House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself in a public dispute with the Vatican on Wednesday, after he sided with President Donald Trump in his ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV. Johnson told reporters that while the Pope is free to share his views on politics, he should “expect some political response” in return.
The tension started earlier this week when Trump lashed out at Pope Leo for criticizing the US-Israel war in Iran, calling him “terrible for foreign policy” and accusing him of being “weak on crime.” Trump also shared a social media post urging “someone to please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”
