Trump and Pope Leo XIV clash over Iran, with Republicans fearing it will alienate Catholic voters.

As the war in Iran enters its seventh week, the two most powerful Americans in the world—one in the White House, the other in the Vatican—are publicly exchanging harsh statements. The origins and developments of the conflict between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV are explored. Associates Press, The Guardian, USA Today and other media.

The first signs of tension between Trump and the Pope emerged on March 31. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955 and the first American-born pontiff in history, addressed Trump directly. He expressed hope that the president would find an off-ramp to peacefully end the conflict with Iran. This was a rare public mention by the Pope of an American leader.

But this was only the first warning sign. Tensions escalated sharply on April 7, when Trump declared that if Iran did not open the Strait of Hormuz, "all Iranian civilization will die tonight and never return." Pope Leo XIV immediately responded, calling the threat "truly unacceptable."

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On April 11, during a prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV denounced the "delusion of omnipotence" that he said fuels war, quoting the Book of Isaiah: "Your hands are full of blood, and I will not hear your prayers." He made it clear that God rejects the prayers of those who wage war.

On the evening of April 12, Trump responded with a lengthy post on his social media account, Truth Social. He called Pope Leo XIV "weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy."

"I don't want a Pope who thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons," the president wrote.

He claimed that Robert Francis Prevost became pontiff only because he is an American, and the Vatican allegedly saw this as the best way to "deal with President Donald J. Trump."

"If I weren't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican," Trump added. In the same post, he shared an AI-generated image of himself in biblical robes, dressed as a healer with rays of light emanating from his hands.

The post was deleted the following morning. On April 13, Pope Leo XIV was on board a plane bound for Algiers, the beginning of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. He answered journalists' questions calmly and firmly: "I have no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel."

The pontiff emphasized that his words were not a personal attack, but a call for peace, dialogue, and multilateralism: "I will continue to speak out loudly against war, striving to promote peace, reconciliation, and multilateral relations between states to find just solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I believe someone must stand up and say there is a better way."

That same day, at a press conference at the White House, Trump refused to apologize to the Pope.

"He was the first to get political. I simply responded," the president remarked. Regarding the now-deleted image, he said, "I thought it was me as a doctor and related to the Red Cross. It was supposed to portray me as a doctor who makes people better."

Vice President J.D. Vance, a practicing Catholic, called the AI-powered image post a "joke" in an interview with Fox News and noted that Trump enjoys provoking on social media and doesn't always filter his remarks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also a Catholic, has so far refrained from publicly commenting on his boss's statements.

Iran's reaction took an unexpected turn in the conflict. Iranian authorities quickly sided with Pope Leo XIV. President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned Trump's actions and called the AI ​​image he posted "a desecration of the image of Jesus." In his post on X, he wrote: "On behalf of the great nation of Iran, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency and declare that the desecration of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Prophet of Peace and Brotherhood, is unacceptable to any free person. I wish you glory from Allah."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also praised the Pope's "fearless stance" against the war. This is an extremely rare instance of the Shiite Islamic Republic expressing open support for a Catholic pontiff.

In the United States, where Catholics make up approximately 85 million people (approximately 23% of the population), the situation is causing serious concern. Catholics are traditionally considered an important swing vote in elections. Polls show that currently, approximately 52% of American Catholics disapprove of Trump's performance, and 60% oppose war with Iran. Republicans in Congress are already calling this unnecessary noise that could cost votes in the 2026 midterm elections.

President Donald Trump, stepping on a political hornet's nest, has angered Catholics around the world.

Several conservative Catholic leaders in the United States publicly called on Trump to apologize, which, as a reminder, the president refused. They said it was unseemly for them to have to choose between their faith and their country.

“There is no doubt that President Trump’s post insulting Pope Leo XIV once again crossed the line of decency, which is essential to diplomacy,” Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of CatholicVote, a political advocacy group, wrote in X on April 13.

Republican pollster Brent Buchanan said his firm, Cygnal, has been tracking Catholic voters since the 2022 midterm elections. He noted that American Catholics have repeatedly demonstrated independence from the Vatican's political direction, but if Trump continues to squabble with the Pope, it could create problems for Republicans in the fall.

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Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed sadness at Trump's words and recalled that Pope Leo XIV is not a political rival, but the Vicar of Christ, speaking in the name of the Gospel.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV continues his African tour and shows no signs of toning down his rhetoric.

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