A defiant Pope Leo XIV has mocked Donald Trump’s deranged Truth Social post about him.
The unruffled pontiff, 70, told reporters that he did not fear the president, 79, or his administration, either.
He made the declaration on Monday aboard the papal flight to Algiers—the start of an 11-day trip to four African countries—hours after Trump posted a 334-word Truth Social broadside branding the Chicago-born pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Speaking directly to Trump’s assault, Leo told reporters: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.”
Asked specifically about Truth Social, the pontiff offered a wry aside: “It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more.”
The pope vowed to carry on speaking out against the war, saying: “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
“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. Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
Trump’s rant followed the broadcast of a segment on CBS News’ 60 Minutes in which three American Cardinals—Robert McElroy, Joseph Tobin, and Blase Cupich—echoed the pope’s criticisms of Trump’s war on Iran and his deadly immigration crackdown.
Leo had used a prayer vigil for peace on Saturday, at which the pontiff denounced a “delusion of omnipotence” he said was “becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
Leo stopped short of naming Trump directly, but his words were widely read as aimed squarely at the president and his administration, both of which have invoked God and divine sanction in public messaging around the Iran war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has framed the conflict as divinely supported, but Leo pushed back on Palm Sunday, saying: “Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.”
In Trump’s Sunday night post, he accused Leo of thinking it acceptable for Iran to possess nuclear weapons—a claim without any factual basis—and condemned the pope’s concern for Venezuela following the U.S. raid that deposed Nicolás Maduro in January.
He also claimed credit for Leo’s elevation to the papacy, writing, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican”—a line the Beast has reported Trump has used before.
Trump then praised the pope’s older brother, Louis Prevost, 73, of Port Charlotte, Florida, a self-described “MAGA type” whose pro-Trump Facebook activity the Beast first reported in May. “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote.
Minutes after posting the rant, Trump shared a seemingly AI-generated image of himself as Jesus—imagery that drew a swift rebuke, including from former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The pushback from within the Catholic Church was immediate. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” adding that Leo was “not his rival” and “not a politician,” but rather “the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
The dispute carries polling numbers that will make for uncomfortable reading at the White House. A March NBC News poll found 42 percent of Americans viewed Leo favorably and just 8 percent unfavorably, while 41 percent viewed Trump favorably and 53 percent unfavorably.
The attacks represent a dramatic reversal from Trump’s tone after Leo was elected pope in May 2025, when he called the event “a great honor for our country” and said he was looking forward to meeting him. In December, Trump told Politico he was unaware of any papal criticism of his immigration agenda and considered Leo “a lovely man.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
