Pope Leo downplays feud with Trump, says ‘not in my interest’ to debate him
Comments decrying that the world was being ‘ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ were not aimed at Trump, said the pope
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[ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT] Pope Leo sought to downplay his feud with US President Donald Trump on Saturday (Apr 18), saying reporting about comments he has made so far during his Africa tour “has not been accurate in all its aspects”.
Speaking to reporters in English aboard his flight to Angola for the third leg of his ambitious 10-day Africa tour, the first US pope said comments he made two days earlier in Cameroon decrying that the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” were not aimed at Trump.
That speech, said Leo, “was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting”.
Vice-President JD Vance, who had criticised the pope’s remarks last week, welcomed his latest comments.
“I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this,” Vance posted on social media platform X. “While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict – and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen – the reality is often much more complicated.”
On Apr 12, as Leo prepared to embark on his tour, Trump called him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a post on Truth Social.
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Trump also posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him. The post was removed on Apr 13 morning. Trump appeared to be responding to Leo’s growing criticism in recent weeks of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Pope Leo later told Reuters that he would keep speaking out about the war, and Trump reiterated his criticism on Tuesday. On Apr 16, Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, though he did not mention Trump directly again.
“As it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in my interest at all,” the pontiff said on Apr 18. Leo, originally from Chicago, kept a relatively low profile for a pope in his first 10 months but has debuted a new forceful speaking style in Africa, sharply denouncing war, inequality and global leaders.
His Africa tour is one of the most complicated ever arranged for a pontiff, with stops in 11 cities and towns in four countries, traversing nearly 18,000 km over 18 flights. REUTERS
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