WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took to social media on Sunday to launch a direct attack on Pope Leo XIV, urging the first American pope to cease aligning with what he termed the “Radical Left.”

This marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Trump and the head of the Catholic Church, a dispute that originated over differing views on the war in Iran.

In his online comments, the president criticized, “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” further stating, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

Later, upon returning to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One, Trump reinforced his stance to reporters, saying, “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump described Pope Leo as “a very liberal person,” stating unequivocally, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”

The president’s remarks came in response to Pope Leo’s weekend criticism of the “delusion of omnipotence” driving the U.S.-Israel conflict in Iran, calling for world leaders to halt aggression and pursue peace negotiations.

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan during a fragile ceasefire.

The U.S.-born pope didn’t mention the United States or Trump by name in his prayer. But Leo’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and U.S. officials, who have boasted of U.S. military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

Leo is scheduled to leave Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa.