Pope Leo XIV says he is “not afraid” of Trump administration
Leo has been an outspoken critic of the Iran war, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump.
- President Donald Trump shared an image on Truth Social depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure healing the sick, but it has since been deleted.
- The post followed a public disagreement between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.
- President Trump criticized the Pope on social media, calling him “soft on crime” and taking credit for the Pope’s election.
On April 12, President Donald Trump posted an illustration of himself appearing to be Jesus Christ.
The image posted on Truth Social shows President Trump wearing a white tunic and red shawl, his left hand shining. In the image, President Trump is seen blessing a man in a hospital bed with his right hand on his forehead. The participants, including a woman who was praying with her hands clasped together, looked up at Trump, portraying him as a god-like figure. It evokes images of Jesus healing the sick.
The post comes amid public conflict between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war. Pope Leo directly criticized President Trump’s harsh words, such as his threat last week that “the entire civilization will perish tonight.” Just before posting an AI photo of himself as Jesus, President Trump called Pope Leo “soft on crime” and claimed he was responsible for Leo’s election to the Holy See.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the photo. By noon on April 13th, the post appears to have been deleted. The link now displays a “not found” message and no longer appears on President Trump’s Truth Social profile.
Here’s what you need to know:
What did President Trump say about the Pope?
On April 12, Trump criticized Pope Leo in a lengthy post on Truth Social. Pope Leo, the first American pope, has been outspoken about some of the Trump administration’s policies since being elected to replace the late Pope Francis in May 2025.
Pope Leo told journalists in front of his official residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on April 7, after President Trump’s threats against Iran included “the whole civilization”: “As everyone knows, today there was this threat against the whole Iranian people. This is truly unacceptable.”
Leo praised the ceasefire announced by President Trump later that week, but last weekend, as peace talks failed in Pakistan, Pope Leo said at a prayer service: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in the service of life.”
Pope Leo also reportedly met with Democratic strategist David Axelrod, whom Trump mentioned in his post.
President Trump’s Truth Social post said, “Pope Leo is weak on crime, but terrible on foreign policy.” “I don’t want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States, because that’s exactly what I was elected to do in a landslide…If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
While answering questions from reporters, the pope said that the very name of President Trump’s platform was “ironic.”
“I have no fear of the Trump administration, and I have no holler about the gospel message,” he said. “I don’t see my role as a politician or a statesman. I don’t want to get into an argument with him. I don’t think the message of the Gospel is meant to be misused as some people do. And I will continue to speak out against war, aiming to promote peace.”
Read President Trump’s full post about the Pope here.
See an AI image of Trump dressed as Jesus
Contributed by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Antonio Fins, Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY Network
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), thread, blue sky and TikTok.
