U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his public criticism of Pope Leo just days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the Vatican, potentially complicating what was expected to be a diplomatic effort to repair relations between Washington and the Holy See.
In an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, Trump accused the first American-born pope of aiding Iran and said the pontiff's public statements on immigration were making the world less safe, according to reporting by the South China Morning Post.
Trump took particular issue with Pope Leo's remarks emphasizing the importance of treating immigrants with respect, framing the pope's position as incompatible with the administration's approach to border security and its hardline stance toward Tehran.
The remarks mark a continuation of tensions between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church's leadership under Pope Leo, who ascended to the papacy as the first pontiff born in the United States. Despite that historic distinction, the new pope has not shied away from public positions that diverge sharply from White House policy on several key issues.
Rubio, himself a Catholic, was expected to use his Vatican trip to open a channel of dialogue and ease friction between the two sides. Trump's renewed broadside against the pope in the days immediately preceding that visit raises questions about the administration's unified diplomatic posture heading into the meeting.
The Vatican has not issued a public response to Trump's latest comments, according to available reports.
The dispute underscores a broader tension between the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda and the Catholic Church's longstanding advocacy for migrant rights. Pope Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, also frequently clashed with Trump over immigration policy during the president's first term in office.
Iran remains another flashpoint. Trump's characterization of the pope as being permissive toward Tehran comes as the administration maintains a policy of maximum pressure against the Iranian government over its nuclear program.
Rubio's visit to the Vatican is expected to proceed as planned, though the diplomatic context surrounding it has grown more complicated in the wake of the president's remarks.
