Pope Leo says 'not in my interest at all' to debate Trump
LUANDA, ANGOLA -- Pope Leo addressed the alleged feud between himself and President Donald Trump on Saturday, reiterating that his remarks promoting the Gospel's message of peace were not intended to debate the president.
The pope told reporters, without being prompted, that he wanted to clear up "a certain narrative that has not been accurate" about his comments and speeches that he has made during his papal tour through Africa that prompted Trump to attack him in social media posts.
Trump has repeatedly accused the first American pope of being "weak" on crime and making false allegations that Leo wanted Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
During a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, Leo told the crowd, "Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth."
Leo told reporters Saturday that the speech was "prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting."
"Yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all," he said. "So, we go on the journey, we continue proclaiming the Gospel message."
In a post on social media on Saturday, Vice President JD Vance said that he was grateful for the pope's latest comments.
"I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict--and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen--the reality is often much more complicated," the vice president said in the post.
"Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President--and the entire administration--work to apply those moral principles in a messy world," Vance said. "He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we'll be in his."
Leo has been outspoken about his opposition to the war in Iran, and though he did not name Trump in his speeches and homilies, he has called on leaders to stop the violence.
When asked about Trump's comments on Monday, Leo told reporters, he had "no fear of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel."
"That's what I believe in. I am called to do what the church is called to do," Leo said Monday.
Trump and Vance have been slammed by American Catholic leaders and many Catholic groups for their rhetoric and criticism of the pope over the last two weeks.
The president went as far as posting an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure Monday before taking it down. He later reposted another image of Jesus embracing him.
Trump denied that the deleted post had any connection to Jesus at all, and claimed it was supposed to be him as a doctor.
"I want him to preach the Gospel. I'm all about the Gospel. But I also know that you cannot let a certain country, which is a very mean-spirited country, have a nuclear weapon," Trump told reporters Thursday. "The pope could disagree with me on that, but certainly we're allowed to have that."
-ABC News' Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
