U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at Pope Leo XIV again, suggesting that he was unaware of Iran’s repressive actions against its own people and building on his criticism of the Catholic pontiff.
“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post just before midnight Tuesday stateside.
This comes after Trump lashed out against the pontiff on Sunday, saying that he did not want a pope who was critical of the U.S. president.
Pope Leo has called for a ceasefire and urged dialogue to resolve the Iran conflict, while Trump has lambasted him for criticizing U.S. military actions against Iran and Venezuela.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration,” Leo told reporters on Monday, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
