Trump Falsely Claims Pope Leo XIV Supports Iran Nuclear Weapons, Accuses Him of 'Endangering Catholics'

President Trump launched a verbal attack on Pope Leo XIV, falsely claiming the pontiff believes 'it's fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon' and is 'endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.' The accusations came ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Rome and amid ongoing tensions regarding Iran policy. The attack followed Pope Leo XIV's public advocacy for peaceful diplomatic solutions to the Iran crisis rather than military action. Pope Leo XIV swiftly rejected Trump's claims, stating he has never supported nuclear weapons and that the Catholic Church has opposed all nuclear weapons for years. The pontiff emphasized the church's mission to preach peace and urged honesty in public debate. Multiple sources confirmed Trump's statements were false mischaracterizations of the pope's anti-war stance. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll showed 66% of Americans had a positive reaction to Pope Leo's peace advocacy, with most disapproving of Trump's attacks on the ...

"He's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people... [the Pope believes] it's fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon" — Statement made during press conference ahead of Secretary Rubio's Rome visit, in response to Pope Leo XIV's advocacy for diplomatic rather than military solutions to Iran tensions