President Trump has spent the better part of this week attacking Pope Leo XIV — and central to those attacks is a claim that is simply not true.
On Sunday, Trump fired off a lengthy broadside on Truth Social targeting the first U.S.-born pope, writing, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” He repeated the charge to reporters outside the White House on Monday, and again on Thursday — this time even more explicitly. When CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins asked why he was fighting with the pope, Trump said he had “nothing against the pope” but added: “I’m not fighting with him. The pope made a statement. He says, Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The problem: Pope Leo hasn’t made any such statement. In fact, the pope has repeatedly denounced nuclear weapons and made unequivocal calls for countries of the world to abandon them.
In a March 5 video message, Leo said: “Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world, asking that nations renounce weapons and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy. … Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations, so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death, halt the arms race, and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center. May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.”
In February 2026, the pope urged the U.S. and Russia not to let the expiring New START nuclear arms treaty lapse without a follow-up deal. And in March 2026, Pope Leo posted on social media: “Let us #PrayTogether that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.”
The Holy See signed and ratified the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017. PolitiFact rated Trump’s claim “Pants on Fire.”
When pressed by the White House for evidence to support the assertion, spokesperson Anna Kelly simply referred reporters back to Trump’s April 12 Truth Social post.
What Leo has actually said — and said forcefully — is that the ongoing U.S.-Israel war against Iran must end. Having called for an end to the conflict is simply not the same as endorsing Iran having nuclear weapons. Many critics of the war have in fact argued that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from developing such weapons.
The rift between Trump and the Vatican has grown increasingly bitter. After Trump threatened to wipe out “a whole civilization” — a reference to Iran — Leo called it “truly unacceptable” and urged people to speak out against attacks on civilian infrastructure. At a peace vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica last Saturday, Leo declared, “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.”
Trump responded by calling Leo “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” on Truth Social.
The pope responded Monday, telling reporters he has “no fear of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.” Leo is currently on an 11-day trip to Africa, where he has continued calling for dialogue and peace.
The feud has come at a political cost to Trump. Bipartisan polling has found that Trump’s support among Catholics dropped notably after the launch of the Iran war, with 48% approving and 52% disapproving — a significant shift from the 55% of the Catholic vote Trump won in the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, Trump has kept up a separate but related controversy on social media. After facing backlash from Christian conservatives over an AI-generated image that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ, the president claimed the image was meant to show him as a doctor, then posted a new AI image Wednesday showing Jesus embracing him from behind. “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!” Trump wrote.
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