Donald Trump took another swipe at Pope Leo and Nato overnight, amid a growing spat about the Iran war.
The US president launched into an outburst on his Truth Social platform late on Tuesday, after the Pope vowed to continue to “speak out loudly against war”.
Mr Trump launched a furious attack on the pontiff since he condemned his threats that Iran’s “civilisation will die” as “unacceptable” earlier this month.
As the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo has become an influential critic of Mr Trump’s conflict with Iran, while the US president has faced criticism from Catholic and political allies for sharing an AI image that appeared to depict him as Jesus.
In his latest tirade, Mr Trump wrote: “Will someone 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”
The president also risked further alienating himself with military allies in Europe as he launched into yet another assault on fellow Nato members. He wrote on Truth Social: “Nato wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!”
With the war in Iran no closer to a lasting resolution, Mr Trump has ramped up attacks on allies he accuses of letting him down by not joining an increasingly unpopular war.
Mr Trump’s outbursts come after Leo, the first US pope, warned of the risk of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny”, writing in a letter that democracies remain healthy only when rooted in moral values.
In an extraordinary intervention, vice president JD Vance, a Catholic, on Tuesday said the Pope should be “careful when he talks about matters of theology”.
The president continues to face criticism from his base for sharing an AI rendering of himself tending to the sick, wearing white and red robes, with light emanating from his hands. He later said he was portraying a doctor, not Jesus, as backlash grew.
“I thought it was me as a doctor,” he said of the post, which he deleted after an outcry. “Only the fake news could come up with that.”
He also called the Pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy and a Trump ally, called the comments “unacceptable” and expressed solidarity with Pope Leo. She said she would not feel comfortable in a society where religious leaders do what political leaders say.
Mr Trump risked further alienating himself as he called Ms Meloni “unacceptable” for her comments, adding that he was “shocked by her”.
“I thought she was brave, but I was wrong,” he said.
Iran seized the opportunity to call Mr Trump’s “insult” against the Pope “unacceptable”.
“Your Excellency Pope Leo XIV, on behalf of the great nation of Iran, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency and declare that the desecration of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Prophet of peace and brotherhood, is unacceptable to any free person. I wish glory for you from Allah,” president Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X.
Former Maga ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, meanwhile, described the president’s depiction as Christ as “more than blasphemy. It’s an Antichrist spirit”.
“On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus ... I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!”
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