Trump and Pope Leo XIV Clash Over War and Immigration

President Trump and Pope Leo XIV have intensified a public spat sparked by the pope’s criticism of the Iran conflict and U.S. deportation policies. Trump, attacking the pope on Truth Social and in brief remarks, calls him weak on crime and rails against his stance on war, while Leo defends his peacemaking message and argues religious leaders should not be dragged into political conflict. The exchange follows Trump’s framing of the Iran war and immigration as core issues, buoyed by media coverage and commentary from GOP figures on just-war doctrine; a brief ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has not cooled the fray.