President Donald Trump has launched another public criticism of Pope Leo XIV, threatening to disrupt a closely watched diplomatic trip by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Vatican this week. In a Monday interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, the president accused the first American-born pontiff of undermining global security and aligning with Iran.
“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.” Trump also referenced the pope’s recent remarks on immigration, characterizing them as instructions to avoid showing disrespect to immigrants.
The pope has not advocated for Iran to acquire nuclear arms. Instead, Vatican statements and homilies have called for expanded peace negotiations and criticized the broader U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Iran, including Trump’s specific threats of mass civilian strikes. Church officials have repeatedly emphasized that Leo is drawing on biblical and traditional Catholic teaching rather than acting as a political opponent to the administration.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV directly addressed the president’s characterization. “The Catholic Church for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there,” Leo said. He reiterated that his diplomatic outreach is rooted in faith. “The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” he said.
Secretary of State Rubio, a practicing Catholic, sought to downplay the public rift ahead of his Thursday meeting with the pontiff. Rubio told reporters at the White House that the president’s frustration stems from the broader goal of preventing nuclear proliferation. “Trump doesn’t understand why anybody — leave aside the pope — the president and I, for that matter, I think most people, I cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said. The secretary has frequently been tasked with explaining the president’s rhetoric to international partners, and the dispute carries domestic resonance as midterm congressional elections draw closer.
The tension has already drawn a response from the Vatican’s European neighbors. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, historically aligned with Trump, has taken public exception to his comments about the pope. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the president’s remarks in a social media statement, calling them “neither acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.”
“I reaffirm my support for every action and word of Pope Leo; his words are a testament to dialogue, the value of human life, and freedom,” Tajani wrote. “This is a vision shared by our government, which is committed through diplomacy to ensuring stability and peace in all areas where conflicts exist.” Rubio’s itinerary includes separate meetings with Meloni and Tajani on Friday following his Vatican stop, marking at least his third visit to Italy or Vatican City in the past twelve months.
The latest exchange follows a month of escalating public friction between the president and Vatican officials. Last month, Trump posted social media messages accusing the pontiff of being soft on crime and terrorism due to his comments on the administration’s deportation policies and the Iran conflict. Leo responded by stating that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.
Later in the dispute, Trump shared a deleted social media image that drew comparisons to religious iconography, later claiming he believed the picture depicted him as a doctor rather than drawing a direct parallel to Jesus Christ. He has not issued an apology to the Vatican. The diplomatic strain occurs alongside broader transatlantic tensions, with the Pentagon planning to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany in the coming months over what Washington views as insufficient allied support for the Iran war.