After Pope Leo XVI criticized President Donald Trump's war with Iran, Trump called him "weak" in a post on Truth Social, credited himself for Leo's selection as pope, and even went so far as to post an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ.
Last week, the Pope called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."
Moreover, he called on others to "work for peace," stressing that "attacks on civilian infrastructure [are] against international law [and] also a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction that the human being is capable of."
Trump then declared on Truth Social that the Pope is "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," adding:
"He talks about 'fear' of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart."
"I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country."
"And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise."
"He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican."
"Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested."
"Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!"
You can see Trump's post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Trump also posted an image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
The post drew the attention of the MAGA contingent, particularly former Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called on Trump's Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment after he made a genocidal threat toward Iran.
Green said:
"On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus. This comes after last week’s post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilization. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!"
You can see her post below.
Transphobic former athlete Riley Gaines also condemned the post, saying Trump should express "humility" and that "God shall not be mocked."
Following criticism from his own MAGA base, Trump deleted his post, per CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who noted he deleted it "after facing some backlash from his own supporters."
Indeed, the Truth Social link to that post now reads "Not found."
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
When questioned about the image, Trump gave the following absurd response:
"It wasn't a depiction. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with [the] Red Cross as a Red Cross worker which we support and only the fake news could come up with that one."
"I just heard about it and I thought, 'How did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better and I do make people better. I make people a lot better."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
No one was buying it.
Trump previously faced considerable criticism for sharing an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire just days after telling reporters that he'd "like to be pope" following the death of Pope Francis.
His move angered Catholics worldwide; Trump said that he himself "would be my number one choice" to be the next pope after he was asked who he’d like to see become the next pontiff.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
