President v Pope: How feud with Leo could hurt Trump

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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has feuded with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war – setting off an unholy row that could have serious political implications for the Republican leader at home.

Mr Trump has drawn barbs even from some allies over the attacks on the US-born pontiff, who has criticised the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, the intervention in Venezuela and the Iran war.

The President risks alienating the religious right in November’s crucial US midterm elections.

So far, the unprecedented clash between the leader of the most powerful military on Earth and the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics shows no signs of abating.

“There’s nothing to apologise for. He’s wrong,” the 79-year-old Trump told reporters at the White House on April 13.

In the post on April 12, Mr Trump called the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”, suggesting that Pope Leo was elected pope in May 2025 only because he was American and a possible bridge to the Trump administration.

Mr Trump then posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as a figure like Jesus Christ, which he later deleted. He insisted on April 13 that he believed the image showed himself as a doctor.

For his part, Pope Leo told reporters on the papal plane en route to Africa earlier on April 13 that he has “no fear, neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel”.

Pope Leo had earlier in April branded Mr Trump’s threat to destroy a “whole civilisation” in Iran as “truly unacceptable”. He has also previously criticised Mr Trump’s mass deportation campaign as “inhuman”.

Three-times married billionaire Trump has long reached out to America’s evangelical Christians with his conservative, nativist vision.

They backed him in his election wins in 2016 and 2024 despite a series of scandals and an ambiguous personal relationship with religion.

But Mr Trump, who has previously hawked US$60 (S$76) Bibles branded with his name, appeared to have had something of an awakening during his second term.

At his inauguration in 2025 he said he had been “saved by God” after a 2024 assassination attempt on the campaign trail and has taken a more explicitly religious tone.

‘Evil tirade’

Yet over the recent Easter period, which is sacred to Christians, Mr Trump has made a series of eye-opening posts when it comes to religion.

On the morning of Easter Sunday, as Christians were celebrating around the world, Mr Trump posted a profanity-laced warning to the “crazy bastards” of Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or else – bizarrely signing off: “Praise be to Allah.”

Then, amid what appeared to be increasing frustration after talks with Iran produced no breakthrough, came the April 12 attacks on Pope Leo.

“I am disheartened that the president chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” the head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, said in a statement.

At least one prominent Catholic in Mr Trump’s administration backed the US President over the pontiff.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance, a recent convert, told Fox News on April 13: “In some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality... and let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”

There was no immediate reaction from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.

Perhaps more worrying for the White House is the ire on the religious right, particularly among former allies.

Any slackening of support for Mr Trump will add to concerns among Republicans that they could lose control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, with the economy already a worry amid high oil prices caused by the Iran war.

“On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus,” one-time ally and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said.

“This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilisation. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!”

Conservative commentator Riley Gaines also railed against the apparent Jesus image.

“Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this,” Ms Gaines said on X, urging Mr Trump to show humility and adding: “God shall not be mocked.” AFP