'Leo should get his act together': Trump attacks Pope over Iran comments

US President Donald Trump criticised Pope Leo XIV after the pontiff called for an end to the war with Iran and warned against what he described as a “delusion of omnipotence” driving the conflict.

In a social media post, Trump called the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” saying, “Leo should get his act together.”

He added that he did not want a pope who “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump also claimed credit for Leo’s election, suggesting the Vatican chose a US-born pontiff to appeal to Washington. 

“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump said.

While Pope Leo in his antiwar comments did not mention Trump by name, the remarks appeared directed at the US president and other officials who have boasted of US military strength and justified the war in religious terms.