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Trump blasts Pope Leo after pontiff denounces 'delusion of omnipotence'
Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV, saying he is “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy” and is hurting the Catholic church.
The US president also posted on his Truth Social platform that it was only because he was president that the US-born Leo became pope.
Trump said in the post:
Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me…
Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!
Trump’s attack came after Leo denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.
Leo also presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday as the US-Iran talks began in Pakistan amid the fragile ceasefire, the Associated Press reports
The pope didn’t mention the US or Trump by name in his prayer but the pontiff’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.
Trump spoke to reporters in Maryland soon after his social media post and said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” adding that “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo”.
Updated
