The first American pontiff told NBC News on Monday that he would keep up his appeals for peace, which he said were rooted in the gospel.
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Leo XIV hit back Monday after President Donald Trump sharply criticized the first American leader of the Catholic Church as “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Leo, who has been unusually direct in his criticism of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, told NBC News that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and vowed to keep up his appeals for peace that he said were rooted in the gospel.
Trump leveled his criticism of the pope in remarks to reporters and on social media.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess,” the president told NBC News at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, late Sunday.
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” Trump added.
He posted earlier on Truth Social that “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump said.
The pope responded while en route Monday to Algeria for the first stop of an 11-day tour of four African nations.
Speaking aboard the papal plane, the pope said “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, what the church is here to do.”
He added: “We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the gospel, as a peacemaker.”
On the flight, he told reporters that Algeria was ”a very special trip for me” as it was the home of St. Augustine, the inspiration of Leo’s religious spirituality. “He was a bridge of interreligious dialogue, so we must continue to build bridges and reconciliation for all people,” the pope said.
Trump’s heavy criticism did not stop the pontiff from continuing to speak out against the war.
Upon his arrival in Algiers — the capital of a country ravaged in the past by war — the pope stopped by the monument to independence from French rule, and said that as conflicts continue to multiply throughout the world, we cannot add resentment upon resentment.
The pope last week criticized Trump’s public threats to “wipe out” Iranian civilization, saying “attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law” and urging people to contact leaders and members of Congress to call for peace.
He has urged Trump to end the war with Iran, and he lamented in his Easter message last week that the world is “becoming indifferent” to violence. Leo had also criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
In a brief statement Sunday night, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, rebuked Trump’s criticism of the pope.
“I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” Coakley wrote. “Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
Trump separately posted a picture Sunday night portraying himself as having saint-like powers akin to those of Jesus Christ.
Wearing a biblical-style robe, Trump is seen laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers. A soldier, a nurse, a praying woman and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on, with American landmarks in the background and the sky filled with eagles and an American flag.
The post prompted controversy from several high-profile conservatives, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally turned critic.
“It’s more than blasphemy,” she said on X reacting to Trump’s post. “It’s an Antichrist spirit.”
Trump hasn’t always been critical of Leo. At the time, Trump called the pope’s election in May “an honor for our country.”
“It’s such a great honor for our country to have an American pope. I mean, what greater honor could there be? That we were a little bit surprised, very happy. But just a great, absolutely great honor,” he said at the time.
A March NBC News poll found U.S. voters viewed Leo more favorably than they do Trump. Forty-two percent of respondents said they had positive views of the pope, while just 8% had negative views of him. While 41% of respondents said they had positive views of Trump, 53% said they had negative views of him.
Claudio Lavanga reported from aboard the papal plane, and Tara Prindiville and Raquell Coronell Uribe from Washington.
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