Trump and Pope Leo clash over Iran policy as U.S.-Vatican relations hit historic low

May 7, 2026

President Donald Trump has escalated his public feud with Pope Leo XIV, accusing the first US-born pontiff of endangering Catholics with his Iran stance and falsely claiming the Pope supports nuclear weapons for Iran. The dispute has driven U.S.-Vatican relations to what officials describe as an unprecedented low, prompting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to schedule a Thursday meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican after seeking the audience for weeks. Trump has repeatedly attacked Pope Leo since the US-Israel war on Iran began, calling him weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy, and even suggesting the Pope was only elected because Trump was in the White House. The conflict has also strained U.S.-Italy relations, with Trump berating Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in April after she defended the Pope and threatening to withdraw U.S. troops over Italy's Iran policy. Pope Leo, marking his first year as pontiff on Friday, broke his silence Tuesday night to deny ever supporting nuclear weapons, a position consistent with decades of Catholic Church doctrine.

Trump's accusations against Pope Leo on Iran nuclear policy

▪Donald Trump has repeatedly clashed with Pope Leo since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
▪Donald Trump told Hugh Hewitt that Pope Leo thinks it is fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
▪Donald Trump accused Pope Leo of endangering Catholics with Pope Leo's stance on the Iran war.
▪Donald Trump said Pope Leo had only been elected pontiff because Trump himself was in the White House.
▪Donald Trump called Pope Leo weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy in April.

Pope Leo's defense and the Vatican's response

▪Pope Leo spoke to journalists on Tuesday night after leaving the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
▪Pope Leo stated that Pope Leo has never supported nuclear weapons.
▪Donald Trump berated Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in April after Meloni criticized Trump's remarks against Pope Leo.
▪Pope Leo had not been planning to speak to journalists this week until Donald Trump's latest tirade against Pope Leo.
▪Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, described Donald Trump's attacks as strange.

Secretary of State Rubio's upcoming Vatican meeting and diplomatic implications

▪Marco Rubio will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday.
▪The Marco Rubio meeting with Pope Leo will be the first known private audience Pope Leo has had with a member of Donald Trump's cabinet since May of last year.
▪Marco Rubio and JD Vance met Pope Leo a day after Pope Leo's papal inauguration mass in May of last year.
▪Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Pope Leo in the Vatican on Thursday.
▪The Marco Rubio meeting with Pope Leo is intended to ease tensions sparked by previous Donald Trump broadsides.
▪Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, said a frank conversation is expected between Marco Rubio and Pope Leo.