WASHINGTON / ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – Day 2 of the Feud – President Donald Trump on Monday refused to apologize to Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff in history, after a weekend of extraordinary public attacks — and offered a startling explanation for a now-deleted social media post that depicted him as a Christ-like healer.
“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told reporters at a hastily called White House Q&A. “It had to do with the Red Cross. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. A lot better.”
The image, which went viral before being deleted late Monday morning, showed Trump in a biblical robe, laying hands on a sick man as divine light streamed from his fingers. Eagles, an American flag, and ghostly figures filled the sky. Critics — including some of Trump’s own evangelical supporters — called it blasphemous.
But Trump blamed “fake news” for any confusion. Vice President JD Vance later defended the post as “a joke,” telling Fox News that Trump “likes to mix it up on social media” and “of course, he took it down because he realized a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor.”
“I’m Not a Fan of Pope Leo”
The meme controversy followed a stunning broadside Trump launched Sunday night against Pope Leo, who has repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, now in its seventh week.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said of the pontiff. “He’s a very liberal person. He likes crime, I guess.”
In a lengthy social media tirade, Trump wrote: “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
He also made a provocative claim about Leo’s election: “He was only elected pontiff 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.”
Pope Leo Strikes Back — From the Air
While Trump spoke from the White House, Pope Leo was 40,000 feet above the Atlantic, en route to Algiers for an historic 11-day trip to Africa — the first-ever papal visit to Algeria.
Asked by The Associated Press about Trump’s attacks, Leo did not flinch.
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel,” Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane. “To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.”
He added: “I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”
The Root of the Rift: Iran
The clash began Saturday, when Leo said during a prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. He later called Trump’s threat that “an entire civilization will die” as “truly unacceptable.”
Trump, who has ordered U.S. warships to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports, views the pope’s peace appeals as naive. “You cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said Monday. “Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result.”
Vance, a Catholic convert who recently released a book about his faith, led failed U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan over the weekend. He has not directly criticized the pope but defended Trump’s right to “mix it up.”
Catholic Leaders “Disheartened”
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by Trump’s comments.
“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician,” Coakley said in a statement. “He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
Even Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, weighed in — condemning what he called the “desecration of Jesus” while also defending the pope.
What Happens Next?
As Pope Leo begins his 11-day African journey — promoting Christian-Muslim coexistence and honoring St. Augustine — the feud shows no sign of cooling. Trump has not ruled out further attacks, and Leo has made clear he will not be silenced.
With U.S. bombs falling on Iran and the Vatican calling for peace, the world’s two most influential Americans are now locked in an unprecedented public war of words — one that transcends politics and touches the very meaning of moral authority.
