The Pope Leo XIV tried to ease tensions with President Donald Trump by stating this Saturday that there is a narrative that has not been accurate in all its aspects and that he has no interest in debating with the American leader.
The pontiff made these statements during his 11-day apostolic tour of four African countries—Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea— which began on April 13, amid a public confrontation that has drawn international attention over the past week.
In dialogue with the press aboard the Vatican plane, the Pope clarified that his speech on peace, delivered days earlier at a prayer meeting, had been prepared two weeks before Trump made comments about him, and that it was misinterpreted as a direct response to the president.
"The speech I gave at the prayer meeting for peace was prepared two weeks before the president commented on me and the message of peace I am promoting, and yet it was perceived as if I were trying to debate with the president again, which is not my interest at all," explained León XIV.
The conflict between both leaders erupted on April 12 and 13, when Trump posted on social media that the Pope was weak on crime and terrible in foreign policy, questioned his legitimacy by stating that "he was only put there by the Church because he was American," and went on to warn that "if I weren't in the White House, León wouldn't be in the Vatican."
Tensions intensified due to their opposing positions on the conflict with Iran: the Pope described Trump's threat to destroy "all of Iranian civilization" as "truly unacceptable," while Trump insisted that the pontiff understand that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons.
In a matter of hours, Trump escalated the confrontation by publicly asking, "Can someone tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent protesters in the last two months?"
For his part, Vice President JD Vance backed Trump, warning the Pope against discussing theology, without the administration offering any apologies.
From the very papal plane, the Pope firmly responded last Thursday: "I have no fear of the Trump administration", reiterating that he will continue "to speak loudly about the message of the Gospel."
In Cameroon that same day, Leon XIV made remarks that many interpreted as indirect allusions to the conflict: "A few tyrants are destroying the world" and "those who manipulate faith for military, economic, and political interests are dragging the sacred into the most sordid."
The confrontation has domestic political implications in the United States: Catholics represent 20% of the electorate and 84% approve of the Pope according to a survey by Pew Research from September 2025, raising concerns about the impact on vulnerable Republican candidates in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
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