Donald Trump has launched a fresh verbal attack on Pope Leo, accusing the pontiff of “endangering a lot of Catholics” by apparently condoning Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The US president made the remarks during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Salem News Network, claiming the pope “thinks it’s fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.
The comments come just days before US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday. The visit is seen as an attempt to ease tensions following Trump’s earlier criticism of the pope’s opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Pope Leo has never explicitly endorsed Iran having nuclear weapons but has repeatedly called for ceasefires and dialogue in the region.
US Ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, said he expected a “frank” meeting between Rubio and the pope. “Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is through fraternity and authentic dialogue,” Burch told reporters, adding that he did not believe there was a “deep rift” between the US and the Vatican.
The trip coincides with the first anniversary of Pope Leo’s papacy and was organised after Trump called the pope “weak” in April and shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure. Rubio denied the visit was intended to “smooth things over”, saying it had been planned beforehand.
Rubio will also meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday, after Trump berated Meloni for criticising his remarks against the pope and threatening to withdraw US troops from Italy. Vice-President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, has also criticised the pope, urging the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality”.
