Trump Says Pope 'Probably Learned' a Political Lesson After Iran War Dispute
Former United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Pope Leo has "probably learned" a lesson about politics following their public disagreement over the Iran war and immigration policies. In an interview with CBS News, Trump explained that he decided to criticize the American-born pontiff after watching a 60 Minutes segment where the Pope expressed disapproval of Trump's stance on these issues.
Trump's Blunt Remarks on Papal Involvement in Politics
"He's wrong on the issues," Trump stated bluntly. "I don't think he should be getting into politics. I think he probably learned that from this." When questioned about potential future communication, Trump gave a definitive "no" regarding plans to call Pope Leo and said he had "no idea" if the pontiff would visit the United States during Trump's presidency. "It's up to him, not up to me," Trump added, distancing himself from any diplomatic outreach.
Defense of Controversial AI-Generated Image
The former president also addressed the controversy surrounding an AI-generated image he posted, which many interpreted as depicting him as Jesus Christ. Trump asserted that the image was meant to show him as a doctor, explaining, "I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing — you had the Red Cross right there, you had, you know, medical people surrounding me." He described it as "a little fun playing the doctor and making people better," and claimed that "most people thought" the same.
Trump revealed that he believed the image was created by "a very beautiful, talented artist" before deciding to delete it. "Normally I don't like doing that, but I didn't want to have anybody be confused. People were confused," he said, acknowledging the backlash from both his supporters and Catholics on social media.
Pope Leo's Response and Commitment to Peace
In contrast, Pope Leo, speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers at the start of a 10-day tour to four African countries, told Reuters on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against war. "I don't want to get into a debate with him," the Pope said, referring to Trump. He emphasized, "I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."
The pontiff reaffirmed his commitment to peace, stating, "I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems." He highlighted the global suffering, adding, "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."
Escalating Tensions Between Trump and the Vatican
This exchange comes amid growing tensions between Trump and the head of the Catholic Church. In recent weeks, Pope Leo has condemned rhetoric from the White House and called for peace in the Middle East. Trump escalated the feud in a post on Truth Social, branding the pontiff "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." He controversially claimed that Leo, aged 70, was only made Pope "because he was an American," and asserted, "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."
The AI image incident further fueled the controversy, sparking outrage among Trump's usual base and Catholic communities online before its deletion. The ongoing row underscores deep divisions over political involvement, war policies, and religious symbolism in contemporary discourse.
