Trump attacks Pope Leo, calling him 'terrible' for foreign policy and 'weak' on crime

U.S. President Donald Trump lambasted Pope Leo XIV in the early hours of Monday morning after the pontiff’s remarks about his immigration and foreign policy stances.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump posted on his social media account Truth Social.

Leo, who earlier last year became the first US-born pope, has taken up arms against the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, which started from February 28. The pontiff previously criticized the Trump administration’s stance on immigration.

"Leo should get his act together as Pope," Trump posted on his social media account on Sunday, adding to reporters later that he “was not a big fan” of the pontiff.

The US president’s broadside at Pope Leo also included the pontiff being “weak on nuclear weapons,” a few days after Pope Leo called the US president’s threat to obliterate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable.”

In a recent Palm Sunday sermon at St Peter’s Square in Vatican, Pope Leo declared that God rejects the prayers of world leaders who start wars, and whose “hands are filled with blood,” referring to the war in Iran as “atrocious.”

Leo has asked Trump to look for a way out of this conflict and “reduce the violence.”

In his tweet, Trump accused Pope Leo of being elected by the Catholic community last year "just because he is American, and they felt that it would be the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump.”

There has been no immediate reaction from the Vatican to a query seeking a response.

Pope Leo has asked for “serious introspection” on how immigrants are treated in the US.