U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his belief that Pope Leo XIV lacks comprehension regarding the nuclear threat posed by Iran.
In a brief phone conversation with the Italian publication Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, Trump stated, “He doesn’t grasp the situation and should refrain from discussing warfare, as he’s unaware of the realities involved.”
Trump also took issue with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s criticism of his remarks about the pope, labeling them as “unacceptable.”
“The real problem lies with her,” Trump asserted, “because she seems indifferent to the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear capabilities and potentially endangering Italy at a moment’s notice.”
Although Trump had previously praised Meloni, he conveyed his surprise at her recent stance.
“I once considered her courageous, but it appears I was mistaken,” he remarked, expressing disappointment over Italy’s perceived lack of backing in the U.S. conflict with Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Meloni defended her disagreements with the Trump administration on Tuesday.
“When you’re friends and have allies, especially if they’re strategic, you also have to have the courage to say when you disagree, which is what I do every day, because I believe this is beneficial for Europe, the United States, and the West in general,” she said.
And Italy’s foreign minister defended Meloni’s defense of the pope.
“Until today, President Trump considered Giorgia Meloni a courageous person. He was not mistaken because she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks. And on Pope Leo XIV, she said exactly what all of us Italian citizens think,” Antonio Tajani wrote on X.
