Trump bashes Pope Leo XIV amid US-Iran conflict, says 'I dont want a Pope who criticizes US President'

US President Donald Trump has openly criticized the head of the Catholic Church, XIV Pope Leo, 's role in the US-Iran conflict and dealing of foreign affairs at times of war.

He strongly expressed his disappointment towards Pope Leo XIV on Sunday evening, denouncing his stance on the Iran war and saying he’s “terrible for foreign policy.”

“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump told reporters, adding, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”

Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal about the US and Israel’s war with Iran, last week condemning Trump’s rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”

Trump's remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews came shortly after he posted a lengthy critique of the pope on Truth Social.

“Pope Leo is 'weak' on crime and 'terrible' for foreign policy," Trump wrote, going on to say he doesn’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon or who thinks it’s “terrible that America attacked Venezuela.”

“And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” he added.

The US president went on to claim Leo “wasn’t on any list to be Pope and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

Notably, Trump's latest comments came after the Pope said, 'Enough of war,' and decried the ‘delusion of omnipotence’ at a peace vigil.

While Pope Leo’s comments did not directly mention war in Iran, they still read as his strongest condemnation of the conflict yet.