#USA #DC – U.S. President Trump has lashed out against Pope Leo XIV in the latest social media post on Sunday, April 12th, 2026, as the Iran War is likely to continue this week with a U.S. naval blockade scheduled for April 13th after failed U.S. negotiation attempts in Pakistan over the weekend. The clash stems from Pope Leo XIV’s repeated moral critiques of Trump’s administration actions, especially aggressive rhetoric and military moves against Iran, including threats to “wipe out” a civilization if Iran didn’t comply with Trump’s demands like reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and operations described as involving bombing nuclear facilities. The pope had called Trump’s threats “truly unacceptable,” urged ceasefires and diplomacy, emphasized that “God does not bless any conflict,” and pushed back against invoking religion to justify war.
Both the Trump administration and Holy See have held opposing arguments in 2025 as it related to U.S. mass deportations. However, the start of 2026 has led to further deterioration as Pope Leo had condemned an observed shift in U.S. foreign policy strategies. According to The Free Press reporting on insider information from U.S. and Vatican government personnel, as a result of Pope Leo’s “state-of-the-world speech” on January 19th, 2026, the Vatican State ambassador to the United States was summoned to a meeting in the Pentagon on January 22nd, 2026, where he was lectured on American military power in an attempt to coerce the Vatican to align their foreign policy goals with the United States. Pope Leo’s speech had criticized U.S. foreign policy as the U.S. had kidnapped the national leader of Venezuela on January 3rd, 2026, and he condemned use of force as a diplomatic measure over dialogue and negotiations. Both the White House and Holy See have denied these The Free Press report, while at the same time acknowledging the meeting took place, although with different perspectives on the events. As a result of this meeting, observers speculated that this clash resulted in the decision from Pope Leo to forgo his invitation to the United States for the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4th, 2026.
Since the start of the Iran War, Pope Leo has urged peace and condemned religious rhetoric, making statements such as that Christian leaders responsible for this war to make an examination of conscience and go to confession, and that God is not on the sides of those with blood on their hands. Shortly before Easter, Pope Leo pressed the American public to use their power as citizens with democratic rights to urge their members of Congress as a way to voice their disapproval of the war and urge change. This call came as Trump bragged on social media of being capable to “wipe out” Iranian civilization, and callously and casually threatened to bomb critical infrastructure, both of these actions of which are considered war crimes according to international law. On April 11th, 2026, Pope Leo held a prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica, and although he did not explicitly condemn any specific persons, or governments, he did speak generally about idols of power and greed that enslave those who have led recent wars. This vigil was held not specifically towards the Iran War, although the war was mentioned in Pope Leo’s speech and compared to World War II and the Iraq War, but generally for peace across the world and its many conflicts, including the Iran regional conflict (including the Israeli invasion of Lebanon), Russo-Ukraine War and many other wars, notably those in Africa. Trump’s most recent lash out towards Pope Leo is likely in response to the pope’s words from that prayer vigil as the pope had made no recent major comments or statements since.
Last week, Trump had a similar crash out against former “MAGA allies” including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Megyn Kelly on Truth, calling them “low IQ” because they did not support the Iran War and have been extremely vocal in their opposition against the conflict. This lash out against Pope Leo is not the first time that Trump has attacked a pope on social media. Prior to Trump’s election in 2016, in response to comments that Pope Francis had made on Trump’s proposed border policy and plans to build a wall, Trump responded to the Pope on social media stating that he should wish he was elected president due to his plans to combat ISIS before it could attack the Vatican. After Trump was elected, Pope Francis continued to criticize Trump’s immigration and border policy, and Trump once spoke back against him, calling him “disgraceful” for questioning his Christianity. However, in comparison to the recent escalations between the Holy See and Vatican State, the latest social media post is the first time that Trump has specifically attacked a pope in such a way as pressures mount over the Iran War, Strait of Hormuz crisis, and the ripple effects on the global economy as energy prices skyrocket.
Shortly after President Trump’s condemnations of Pope Leo, he also posted an artificial intelligence (AI) generated image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. The bizarre post was compared to when the White House had posted an AI-generated image of Trump as pope shortly after Pope Francis’ death last year.
The U.S. president has not been the only public figure to openly criticize Pope Leo over the weekend. Fox News commentator Sean Hannity launched an attack on the pope as well as a result of his criticism and prayer vigil, questioning if the pope had read the Bible, and attempted to draw parallels in the justification of the Iran War to Bronze/Iron Age conflicts in the Old Testament, i.e. David and Goliath. The response to these claims against the pope were mostly negative on social media. Together with Trump’s posts, these attacks on the leader of the Catholic Church have also demonstrated an even more growing divide between Evangelical and Catholic Christians, which became more apparent on Good Friday when the Pentagon held only a Protestant service and failed to provide a Catholic service.
The response from left-leaning sources have portray Trump’s latest social media post as unhinged or hubristic, while highlighting the Pope’s moral authority. Public reactions on platforms like X have been polarized, with supporters defending Trump’s “America First” stance and critics seeing it as an attack on religious leadership. Critics also suggest that the latest lash out as signs of the stress the U.S. president has been under since the regional conflict has not resolved, and will likely worsen in the month to come with potentials for massive ramifications to the global economy and American hegemonic power if the situation is not defused soon. At this time, Trump faces a high disapproval rating, not seen since he left office after the January 6th incident in Washington D.C., but his approval rating is still higher than George Bush Jr.’s during the peak fatigue of the Iraq War. However, as the Iran War is still in its early stages, these ratings have potential to change for better or worse as the American public are tested on their patience with high gas prices, worsening economic conditions, and an unpopular war with no apparent goal that benefits U.S. citizens.
Image: U.S. President Trump speaks to the press on April 12th, 2026, expanding on his comments made on Pope Leo XIV.
