President Trump doubled down on his criticism of Pope Leo after a CBS News "60 Minutes" segment triggered a public clash. Trump said the pope is wrong on the issues and should stay out of politics, while Pope Leo said he has no fear of the Trump administration and will keep speaking out on war.
President Trump is refusing to back down from a growing feud with Pope Leo that was set off by a CBS News "60 Minutes" segment and quickly escalated into a public exchange of criticism.
In an exclusive interview published April 13, Trump said Pope Leo is "wrong on the issues" and should stay out of politics. Trump said he had watched the "60 Minutes" segment before posting his criticism on Truth Social.
The segment focused on Pope Leo's views on war in Iran and mass deportations, and included three American cardinals discussing the pope's influence. After the broadcast, Trump attacked the pope online, then repeated his criticism on the record for CBS.
The president's latest comments came after AP reported that he would not apologize to the pope. Trump also repeated his opposition to the pope's stance on Iran, according to the reporting.
Pope Leo answered back separately while speaking aboard the papal plane to Algeria. In comments published by Vatican News, he said he has "no fear of the Trump administration," added that he is not a politician, and said he would keep speaking out strongly against war.
CBS News later reported the pope's response as the dispute widened beyond a single television segment and into a direct exchange between the White House and the Vatican.
The immediate question now is whether either side will soften its language. So far, neither Trump nor Pope Leo has shown any sign of doing that.
Revision note
Initial automated publication.