Trump says he won't apologize to Pope Leo and explains his reason for
posting much-criticized meme
[April 14, 2026]
By WILL WEISSERT, JOSH BOAK and NICOLE WINFIELD
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump refused to apologize to Pope
Leo XIV on Monday after criticizing the pontiff for his opposition to
the war in Iran — and he sought to explain away a now-deleted social
media post depicting himself as Jesus by saying he had thought the image
was of him as a doctor.
Trump was asked about his comments toward the U.S.-born head of the
Catholic Church, as well as the post depicting himself as a saint-like
healer, in a hastily called question-and-answer session with reporters
at the White House.
“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,” Trump said, adding, “I think he’s very weak on crime and other
things, so I’m not” going to apologize.
“He went public," the Republican president added. "I’m just responding
to Pope Leo.”
That response followed Leo pushing back on Trump’s broadside against him
the previous evening, telling reporters that the Vatican’s appeals for
peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel and that he doesn’t
fear the Trump administration.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted
to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel
is,” Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane en route to
Algeria. “And I’m sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I
believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
The back-and-forth between the world's two most influential Americans
served to deepen a burgeoning schism as the U.S. war in Iran stretched
into its seventh week.
History’s first U.S.-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct
attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace
and criticisms of the Iran war and other conflicts around the world.
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly
about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for,"
said Leo, who said he had a different perspective on foreign policy than
elected officials.
“I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote
peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find
solutions to problems,” he said.
Trump speaks to his much-criticized social media post
The image posted by the president Sunday night showed Trump wearing a
biblical-style robe and laying hands on a bedridden man as light
emanates from his fingers — while a soldier, a nurse, a praying woman
and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on admiringly. The sky
above is filled with eagles, an American flag and vaporous images.
“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and it had to do
with the Red Cross,” Trump said. “It’s supposed to me as a doctor,
making people better. And I do make people better. A lot better.”
He blamed the “fake news” for any confusion over the image, though it
drew criticism from a wide range of people, including some of Trump's
own evangelical supporters, who objected to the notion that Trump was
likening himself to Christ. Even Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian,
assailed the “desecration of Jesus" while also speaking up to defend the
pope.
The post was deleted from Trump's account late Monday morning. Trump
didn't provide details on how that happened.
Trump had charged that Leo is not ‘doing a very good job’
The president criticized the pope in a lengthy social media post while
flying back to Washington from Florida on Sunday night. He kept up the
denunciation after deplaning, telling reporters, “I’m not a fan of Pope
Leo."
[to top of second column]
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Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard his flight bound for
Algiers’ Houari Boumédične International Airport on Monday, April
13, 2026, at the start of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa.
(Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP)
Leo said Saturday during an evening prayer service at St. Peter’s
Basilica that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the
U.S.-Israel war in Iran. The comments came the same day that the
United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan
during a fragile ceasefire.
The talks were being led on the U.S. side by Vice President JD
Vance, a Catholic who recently released a book about his faith.
Asked about Trump's post depicting himself as Jesus on Monday
evening, Vance told Fox News Channel that it was “a joke” and said
it’s “a good thing” that Trump “likes to mix it up on social media”
and is “not filtered.”
“Of course, he took it down because he realized a lot of people
weren’t understanding his humor,” Vance said of the post.
The pope's Saturday criticisms meanwhile, followed him earlier
naming Trump directly and expressed optimism that the president
would seek “an off-ramp” in Iran. An even stronger condemnation came
after Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and
infrastructure, writing on social media that “an entire civilization
will die tonight.” Leo described that as a “threat against the
entire people of Iran” and said it was “truly unacceptable.”
While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross
purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the pope to directly criticize a
U.S. leader — and Trump’s stinging response is equally uncommon.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the
president wrote in his post, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks
it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
Leo's opposition to war irked Trump
Leo, who began an 11-day trip to Africa on Monday, has previously
said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,
but rejects them.” He's also referred to an Old Testament passage
from Isaiah, saying that “even though you make many prayers, I will
not listen — your hands are full of blood.”
Still, in his comments on Monday, as in his Sunday night social
media post, Trump went far beyond the war in Iran in criticizing
Leo.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United
States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE,
to do." His post also claimed that Leo was only elected pontiff
“because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best
way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,”
Trump wrote, adding, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use
Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being
a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and,
more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”
In his comments to reporters after stepping off Air Force One on
Sunday, Trump said of Leo, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good
job. He likes crime, I guess,” adding, “He’s a very liberal person.”
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops, also said he was “disheartened” by Trump’s
comments.
“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician," Coakley
said in a statement. “He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the
truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
___
Winfield reported from aboard the papal plane. Associated Press
writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
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