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Pope Leo: Debating Trump ‘not in my interest at all’

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/18/26 12:37 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/18/26 12:37 PM ET

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Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said any debate with President Trump amid their recent back-and-forth is “not in my interest at all.”

The pope was aboard his plane headed to Angola when he referred to coverage about a speech delivered in Cameroon asking those to give “woe to those who manipulate religion” as “a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.” He said the speech was prepared two weeks ago, “well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting.”

“And yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not my interest at all,” Leo said. “So we go on the journey. We continue proclaiming the gospel message.”

Trump has attacked the pope over his calls for peace during the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

He wrote on Truth Social last Sunday that the pontiff is “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” suggesting that the Chicago-born figurehead of the Catholic Church would not be pope if Trump were not president. He also claimed Leo wants Iran to have nuclear weapons, something the pope has never said.

The president later said he will not apologize for lashing out at Leo for saying “things that are wrong.” He accused the pope of having “a problem” with law and order.

“He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump told reporters outside the Oval Office on Monday. “Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result.”

Trump’s rhetoric appeared toned down on Thursday when he told reporters that he’s “not fighting” with Leo. He emphasized liking Leo’s brother, Louis Prevost, who is a Trump supporter, and that Prevost and his family “love their brother who’s the pope.”

“I think that’s the perfect metaphor for where we are,” he added.

Leo told reporters on Sunday, after Trump initially blasted him on Truth Social, that he is “not afraid of the Trump administration.”

He continued his calls for peace later in the week, urging those to “reject the logic of violence and war, and embrace peace founded on love and justice—an unarmed peace, not based on fear, threats or weapons.”

“This peace is disarming, because it is capable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts, and generating trust, empathy, and hope,” he wrote Wednesday on the social platform X. “I strongly reiterate: The world thirsts for #Peace! Enough of war and all the pain it causes through death, destruction, and exile!”

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