...
By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
President Donald Trump is not seeking any meeting with Pope Leo XIV as the pair remain in an escalating war of words, with Trump stressing that he believes he has "a right to disagree with the pope."
"I can disagree with the pope. I have a right to disagree with the pope," Trump told reporters during a press gaggle outside the White House before he departed to Las Vegas. "This is the real world. It's a nasty world. If the pope would allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, he cannot do that."
Trump said he didn't "think it's necessary" for him to meet with the pope and hash out their differences when asked about a possible encounter.
Read More on Politics
Why It Matters
Trump and Leo clashed publicly this week after the pontiff criticized the ongoing war with Iran, warning against what he described as a “delusion of omnipotence” fueling global conflict. Trump responded with a series of social media posts and comments accusing the first American pope of being “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” escalating a rare and unusually direct feud between a sitting U.S. president and the leader of the Catholic Church.
The conflict intensified after Trump shared, and later deleted, an AI‑generated image depicting himself in a Jesus‑like pose, a move that sparked backlash from Catholic leaders and even some of his religious allies, although Trump later said it was supposed to depict him as a doctor, not Jesus. Leo, speaking during an overseas trip, dismissed the attacks and said he had “no fear” of the Trump administration, reaffirming that his remarks were rooted in Christian teachings on peace rather than partisan politics.
...
What To Know
The president is headed to Las Vegas to discuss his tax policies, including cuts he signed into law last year to highlight what Republicans see as an economic strength ahead of this year's midterms.
But reporters peppered him with a range of questions, including some about tensions that have continued to escalate between the president and the pope after Trump posted a pointed criticism on Truth Social and then posted an image that appeared to depict him as Jesus. Trump subsequently deleted the image and said he thought it had depicted him as a doctor—a response that has drawn sharp scrutiny.
The president told reporters that "the pope can disagree with me."
"I'm all about the Gospel. I'm about it as much as anybody can be, but I can't allow, as president of the United States of America, I can't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.
Trump and Pope Leo Continue Trading Barbs
Earlier this month, Leo blamed the Iran war on the "delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive."
During his stop on Thursday in Cameroon, amid his four-country tour of Africa, the pope said: "Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth."
"It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience," Leo added.
Trump also wrote on Truth Social: "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."
Earlier in the week, Leo said he had "no fear with neither the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel."
Update 4/16/26, 3:45 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines