Responding to the critical posts by Donald Trump about the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo, the Vatican issued its own message with Father Antonio Spadaro writing on platform X: “Donald Trump is targeting Pope Leo XIV. And in doing so, he betrays a deep anxiety. When political power attacks a moral voice, it is because it cannot contain it. Trump does not discuss with Leo: he implores him to retreat in a language of domination. But the Pope speaks another language, a language that refuses to be limited to the grammar of violence, security, and national interest.”
The 70-year-old American Pope has intensified his rhetoric for ending violence and on Holy Saturday declared: “Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with displays of power! Enough with war!” while speaking about the “illusion of omnipotence” that fuels the US-Israel war in Iran.
Donald J. #Trump prende di mira #PapaLeone XIV. E cosi tradisce un disagio profondo. Quando il potere politico si accanisce contro una voce morale, è perché non riesce a contenerla. Trump non discute Leone: lo implora di rientrare in un linguaggio che possa dominare. Ma il Papa… pic.twitter.com/hJscAk2rwa
— Antonio Spadaro (@antoniospadaro) April 13, 2026
What Donald Trump said about Pope Leo
Detailed account of what Donald Trump wrote about Pope Leo:
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime and terrible on Foreign Policy. He talks about the ‘fear’ of the Trump administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian organizations, had during COVID, when they were arresting priests, pastors, and everyone else for holding services, even when they were outdoors and keeping distances of ten or even twenty feet.
I like his brother Louis much more than him, because Louis is totally MAGA. He understands the situation, while Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons. I don’t want a Pope who considers it unacceptable that America attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending massive amounts of drugs to the United States and, even worse, emptying its prisons — including murderers, drug dealers, and criminals — sending them to our country.
And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States for doing exactly what I was elected to do, with an overwhelming victory, achieving historically low crime levels and creating the greatest stock market in History.
Leo should be grateful, because, as everyone knows, he was a big surprise. He wasn’t on any list for the position of Pope and was placed there by the Church because he was an American and they believed this would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I weren’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.
Unfortunately, Leo is weak on crime, weak on nuclear weapons, which I don’t like at all, nor do I like the fact that he meets with Obama supporters, like David Axelrod, a FAILED Leftist, who was among those who wanted believers and clergy to be arrested.
Leo needs to get it together as Pope, use common sense, stop serving the Radical Left and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician. This hurts him a lot and, most importantly, hurts the Catholic Church!
President DONALD J. TRUMP”
What Pope Leo had declared
Pope Leo, in his most intense intervention since the outbreak of wars around the world, especially in the Middle East, stated last Saturday that religious faith is necessary “to face together this dramatic moment in history.” “Enough with the idolatry of the Self and money! Enough with displays of power! Enough with war! True power is manifested when we serve life,” said the American head of the Roman Catholic church during a vigil and prayer for peace at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Addressing “leaders,” Pope Leo also said it is “time” to guarantee “peace,” to “sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned or deadly actions are decided.” He was careful, as in the past, not to mention any politician by name, nor any specific country. Since being elevated to office in May 2025, the Chicago-born Pope has clearly taken positions against certain decisions of the Trump administration, while maintaining open channels of communication.
