Former President Donald Trump took aim at Pope Leo XIV and Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson during their recent meeting in Rome, labeling Johnson “useless” and suggesting the Vatican should have avoided the encounter.
“Someone should explain to the Pope that the Mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon!” Trump declared on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s post included screenshots from Johnson’s social media, depicting the mayor’s visit with the pope. The images from the Vatican show Johnson gifting Pope Leo a miniature Chicago flag and the two of them smiling with a Chicago Cubs hat, an ironic gesture since the pope is a known White Sox supporter. Notably, Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope and has roots in Chicago.
This interaction seems to have rekindled Trump’s ongoing feud with Pope Leo. Trump has previously criticized the pope for his stance on the Iran conflict and accused him of being “weak” on crime, particularly suggesting that the pope is indifferent to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump’s comments appear to have reignited his publicized feud with the pope. The president previously slammed Leo over his criticism of the Iran war and for being “weak” on crime, insisting the pope was okay with Iran having a nuclear weapon.
“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,” he wrote, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected.”
Trump has also accused Leo of “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people,” by allegedly condoning Iran’s development of nuclear weaponry.
The pope has previously responded to the president’s critiques, saying he is “not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”