Trump says he won't apologize for attack on Pope Leo, tries to explain now-deleted Christ-like AI post

U.S. Chair Donald ruff refused to apologise to alexander pope lion XIV on Monday after criticizing the pontiff for his opposition to the war in Iran — and sought to explain away a now-deleted social media post depicting himself as Jesus by saying he had thought the image was of him as a doctor.

Trump was asked about his comments toward the U.S.-born head of the Catholic Church, as well as the post depicting himself as a healer, in a hastily called question-and-answer session with reporters at the White House.

"He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result," Trump said, adding, "I think he's very weak on crime and other things so I'm not" going to apologize.

"He went public," the Republican president added. "I'm just responding to Pope Leo."

That response followed Leo pushing back on Trump's broadside against him the previous evening, telling reporters that the Vatican's appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel and that he doesn't fear the Trump administration.

"To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is," Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria.

"And I'm sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today," he said.

Pope Leo is 'weak' on crime, Trump says

The back-and-forth between the world's two most influential Americans served to deepen a burgeoning schism as the U.S. War in Iran stretched into its seventh week.

History's first U.S.-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and criticisms of the Iran war and other conflicts around the world.

"I'm not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for," said Leo, who said he had a different perspective on foreign policy than elected officials.

"I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems," he said.

Pope Leo, after criticism from Trump, says he will keep speaking out against war

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally, said his comments were inappropriate.

"I find President Trump's ⁠words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The ‌Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it ​is right ⁠and normal for ⁠him to call ⁠for ⁠peace ​and to condemn every form ​of ⁠war," Meloni said in a statement.

Leo, originally from Chicago, has ⁠emerged as an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ⁠in ⁠recent weeks and decried the "madness ​of war" in a peace appeal on Saturday.

In a speech on Palm Sunday last month in St. Peter's Square ​in the Vatican, the Pope said God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their "hands full of blood," calling the conflict in Iran "atrocious."

Hours later, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform an AI image of himself in robes placing a healing hand on a prone person. While it was not the first time a Christ-like image of Trump has been posted to the account, it drew widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him.

"I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and it had to do with the Red Cross," Trump said. "It's supposed to me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. A lot better."

He blamed the "fake news" for any confusion over the image.

The post was removed from Trump's account late Monday morning. Trump did not say why.

Brilyn Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, wrote on X: "This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop."

Riley Gaines, the former college swimmer who has been praised by Trump for being an outspoken critic of transgender athletes, said she couldn't understand why Trump posted the image.

Gaines said "a little humility" would serve Trump well.

Massimo Faggioli, an expert on the papacy, compared the comments to efforts by the leaders of Germany and Italy during World War Two to draw Pope Pius XII to support their causes.

"Not even ​Hitler or Mussolini attacked the pope so directly and publicly," Faggioli told Reuters.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. ⁠Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he ⁠was disheartened by Trump's comments.

"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,” Coakley said in a statement.

Leo last year said he supported a unique public statement by the conference of bishops, one that criticized the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policies.

"Someone who says, 'I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States', I don't know if that's ‌pro-life," the pontiff said in September.

Trump's criticism comes days after a report emerged that Pentagon officials had criticized the Vatican while hosting the church's representative to the U.S. In a January meeting. The Pentagon and the Vatican pushed back on the report.

Trump, in contrast to past presidents such as Joe Biden and George W. Bush, does not regularly attend church services. He said in 2020 that he considers himself a "non-denominational Christian" after being raised Presbyterian.

Trump clashed with Pope Francis, Leo's predecessor, during his first presidential campaign in 2016.

Amid Trump's promises to build a wall along the border with Mexico, Francis said, "a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."

Trump said it was "disgraceful" for a religious leader to question a person's faith.

Two of Trump's current cabinet members have been sued by a nonprofit group for holding regular Christian worship services.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said in its suit that the taxpayer-funded services held by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer are "abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion," which the nonprofit group described as having a "Christian Nationalist agenda."

---

---