Trump refuses to apologize to Pope Leo amid Iran war divide

US President Donald Trump refused Monday to apologize to Pope Leo after he publicly castigated the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics amid a growing divide over his war on Iran.

Trump on Sunday issued a social media post on his Truth Social platform in which he rebuked the pontiff for what he said is a "weak" record on combatting crime, and being "terrible" on foreign policy, further suggesting that Leo, the first American pope, was elected to satisfy the US president.

Asked if thinks he owes an apology to Leo, Trump said: "No, I don't, because Pope Leo said things that are wrong."

"He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result," he told reporters outside the Oval Office. "He's very weak on crime and other things. I'm just responding to Pope Leo."

Earlier Monday, Leo – the first American pope – condemned violations of international law by “neocolonial” powers, in remarks delivered during a visit to Algeria, hours after Trump issued his social media broadside.

Speaking after talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the pope denounced breaches of international norms, without naming specific countries, during a speech on his first visit to the North African nation since the start of his papacy last May.

The pope has repeatedly expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, describing conditions there as “unacceptable” amid the ongoing Israeli genocide that began in October 2023, and has repeatedly spoken out against the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump also defended another controversial social media post from today in which he posted an AI-generated image of himself in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The AI image was created in the form of an Americana-heavy painting, showing Trump clad in a flowing white robe and red sash normally associated with Jesus. Trump appears to be healing a hospital patient as fighter jets shoot across the sky and quasi-angelic figures look on from on high.

"I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, there's a Red Cross worker there, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one," he said, seeking to downplay the image's clear depiction of himself as Jesus, not a doctor.

"I just heard about it, and I said: 'How did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better," he added.