Updated on: April 18, 2026 / 7:17 PM EDT / CBS News
President Trump has been lobbing insults at Pope Leo XIV in response to the pontiff’s criticisms of the war in Iran and appeals for peace, marking an unusually pronounced rupture between the leader of the United States and the head of the Catholic Church.
Leo criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts both before and after he was elected pope, calling the treatment of immigrants “extremely disrespectful” and echoing concerns voiced by his predecessor, Pope Francis. The immediate catalyst for the exchange was Operation Epic Fury, which began Feb. 28 with joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The day after the operation began, the pope expressed “deep concern” and urged parties to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” As the conflict continued, Leo denounced Mr. Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization as “unacceptable” and encouraged citizens to contact political authorities.
A two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was agreed on April 7, but tensions between the pope and the president intensified after a “60 Minutes” segment highlighted the pontiff’s criticisms of mass deportations and the war. A group of U.S.-based Catholic cardinals in that segment argued the conflict did not meet the Catholic doctrine of a just war.
April 12: Trump calls pope “weak on crime” and “very liberal”
After watching the “60 Minutes” piece, Mr. Trump attacked Leo on Truth Social, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” He wrote, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” and defended his own immigration and crime record. Trump also suggested Leo’s election as the first American pope was influenced by his (Trump’s) return to the White House, calling Leo a “shocking surprise” who was chosen because he was American.
Trump praised Leo’s brother, Louis Prevost, an outspoken Trump supporter who met with the president last year. He urged the pope to “get his act together,” stop “catering to the Radical Left,” and “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.” He repeated criticisms in comments to reporters, calling Leo “a very liberal person” and saying he “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”
That day Trump also drew criticism over an AI-generated image he posted that appeared to depict him in the likeness of Jesus; he later said it showed him as a “doctor” and deleted the post.
April 13: Vance and others weigh in; pope says he has “no fear”
Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, told Fox News the Vatican should generally “stick to matters of morality” but acknowledged he values papal comments on issues like abortion, immigration and war because they provoke conversation. He challenged the pope’s X post that “God is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” asking whether God was on the side of Americans who liberated France and Holocaust victims.
Trump told reporters the pope “said things that are wrong” and reiterated he was “very much against what I’m doing with regards to Iran.” In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump said the pope should not be “getting into politics.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the pope, condemning insults to His Excellency.
Responding to Trump’s attacks, Leo said his words are “not meant as attacks on anyone” and invoked the Gospel: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” He said he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and insisted he was speaking the message of the Gospel, not acting as a politician.
April 14–15: Allies push back
Trump continued on Truth Social, saying Iran has killed “at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters” and arguing a nuclear Iran is “absolutely unacceptable.” White House border czar Tom Homan, a lifelong Catholic, urged the cardinals who spoke on “60 Minutes” to “stay out of immigration,” saying the Church should focus on internal issues.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, an evangelical, said he was “taken aback” by Leo’s remarks suggesting God does not hear those who wage war and defended the administration’s actions as consistent with the Just War tradition. Johnson warned that religious leaders who enter “political waters” should expect political responses.
April 16: Back-and-forth on X; Trump insists he “has a right to disagree”
While traveling in Cameroon, Leo posted on X, “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain.” Trump, departing for Las Vegas, said he had no personal issue with the pope and that the pope “can do that” and speak his mind, but reiterated that it’s “very important the pope understands Iran killed 42,000 people,” and alleged—without evidence—that the pope “says Iran can have a nuclear weapon.” The Vatican has traditionally opposed nuclear arms.
Asked whether he’d meet to resolve differences, Trump said, “I don’t think that’s necessary,” but added he “has a right to disagree” with the pope.
April 18: Pope says debating Trump “is not in my interest”
Traveling from Cameroon to Angola, Leo said a “certain narrative” about his interactions with Trump has been inaccurate and noted some of his remarks had been prepared weeks before the president’s criticisms. He said much commentary had misinterpreted his prepared speech at a Prayer Meeting for Peace and that debating the president “is not in my interest at all.”
The dispute has involved a mix of moral appeals from the pope about war and migration and forceful public pushback from the president and several of his allies, underscoring a rare and very public clash between the U.S. presidency and the papacy.