President Donald Trump refused to apologize for his recent comments criticizing Pope Leo XIV. The President previously tore into the Catholic leader on Truth Social, describing him as a weak leader who caters to the radical left.
Trump blasted the pontiff on Sunday over a variety of issues. He argued that the Christian leader should focus on being a great pope instead of acting like a politician.
The President ran through a list of complaints regarding Iran, Venezuela, and domestic crime. This fury came after the pontiff took issue with Trump’s approach to the Iran war and his threats to end a whole civilization.
Trump doubled down on his criticisms during an Oval Office press conference on Monday. A reporter directly asked the President if he owed the Pope an apology for the weekend remarks.
"I don’t, because Pope Leo said things that are wrong," Trump told reporters. "He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result."
Trump emphasized the severe stakes of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. "You have hundreds of millions of people dead and it’s not going to happen, so I can’t," he stated. "I think he’s very weak on crime and other things, so I’m not. I mean, he went public."
The President noted that he was simply defending his administration's policies. "I’m just responding to Pope Leo," Trump continued. "And, you know, his brother is a big MAGA person and he’s a great guy, Louis. And I said, I like Louis better than I like the Pope."
He then pivoted to highlight his administration's domestic achievements. "Now you have to have law and order in our country and that’s what we have now," Trump said. "We have the lowest crime numbers we’ve had in a long time, despite the fact that many criminals were allowed into our country, but we’ve gotten a lot of them out. We’ve done a great job on crime."
During the press conference, a reporter brought up recent comments from Bishop Robert Barron. The Roman Catholic clergyman serves on the Religious Freedom Commission and recently called for Trump to apologize in a post on X.
"The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful," Barron posted. "They don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation."
Barron argued that church leaders have a duty to discuss moral issues. "It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life," Barron wrote. "In regard to the concrete application of those principles, people of good will can and do disagree."
The bishop suggested a diplomatic approach to resolve the ongoing tension. "I would warmly recommend that serious Catholics within the Trump administration – Secretary Rubio, Vice President Vance, Ambassador Brian Burch, and others – might meet with Vatican officials so that a real dialogue can take place," Barron continued. "This is far preferable to the statements on social media."
Trump dismissed the criticism and maintained that he had nothing to apologize for. "So we have the lowest murder rate in 125 years since 1900, the lowest murder rate," Trump said. "So we believe strongly in our order and he, he seemed to have a problem with that."
He concluded by reaffirming his commitment to preventing a nuclear-armed Iranian regime. "So there’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong," Trump stated. "And the other thing is he didn’t like what we’re doing with respect to Iran, but Iran wants to be a nuclear nation so they can exterminate the world. Not going to happen."