US President Donald Trump has criticised Pope Leo XIV, describing him as weak on crime and bad on foreign policy.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Pope Leo is weak in dealing with crime and terrible on foreign policy.”
He added that ‘Leo should get his act together as Pope,’ and later told reporters he is “not a big fan” of the pontiff.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump said, adding that the pope was “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon.”
Earlier, Pope Leo had openly criticised the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February.
The pope also described Trump’s threat this month to destroy Iranian civilisation as “unacceptable”, and called for “deep reflection” on how migrants are treated in the United States under his administration.
Trump also posted an image on Truth Social depicting himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick, sparking widespread anger on social media.
READ: Trump says other nations will assist US in naval blockade against Iran
