Trump Criticises Pope Leo XIV, calls him ‘very liberal’ in fresh attack
United States President Donald Trump
Abdullateef Fowewe
United States President Donald Trump has criticised Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, calling him “not doing a very good job” and “very liberal” during remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person and doesn’t believe in stopping crimes,” Trump said.
He accused the pope of being “weak on crime,” tolerating nuclear weapons for countries like Iran, and criticising US actions against Venezuela.
Trump referenced the pope’s stances on US city crime, foreign policy, and COVID-era church restrictions, saying, “We don’t want a Pope that says crime is okay in our cities.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump escalated, “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA.” He claimed Leo caters to the “Radical Left” and meets with “Obama Sympathisers like David Axelrod.”
The attacks mark a shift from Trump’s initial praise for the American pope, elected in May 2025, sparking backlash from Catholic leaders amid Vatican-White House tensions.
