Trump launches new assault towards Pope Leo over Iran: ‘Someone tell him they killed 42,000 protesters’ | EUROtoday

Donald Trump took one other swipe at Pope Leo and Nato in a single day, amid a rising spat concerning the Iran struggle.

The US president launched into an outburst on his Truth Social platform late on Tuesday, after the Pope vowed to proceed to “speak out loudly against war”.

Mr Trump launched a livid assault on the pontiff since he condemned his threats that Iran’s “civilisation will die” as “unacceptable” earlier this month.

As the chief of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo has turn into an influential critic of Mr Trump’s battle with Iran, whereas the US president has confronted criticism from Catholic and political allies for sharing an AI picture that appeared to depict him as Jesus.

In his newest tirade, Mr Trump wrote: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”

The president additionally risked additional alienating himself with navy allies in Europe as he launched into yet one more assault on fellow Nato members. He wrote on Truth Social: “Nato wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!”

With the struggle in Iran no nearer to a long-lasting decision, Mr Trump has ramped up assaults on allies he accuses of letting him down by not becoming a member of an more and more unpopular struggle.

Mr Trump’s outbursts come after Leo, the primary US pope, warned of the chance of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny”, writing in a letter that democracies stay wholesome solely when rooted in ethical values.

In a rare intervention, vice chairman JD Vance, a Catholic, on Tuesday mentioned the Pope needs to be “careful when he talks about matters of theology”.

The president continues to face criticism from his base for sharing an AI rendering of himself tending to the sick, carrying white and pink robes, with mild emanating from his arms. He later mentioned he was portraying a health care provider, not Jesus, as backlash grew.

“I thought it was me as a doctor,” he mentioned of the publish, which he deleted after an outcry. “Only the fake news could come up with that.”

He additionally referred to as the Pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy and a Trump ally, referred to as the feedback “unacceptable” and expressed solidarity with Pope Leo. She mentioned she wouldn’t really feel snug in a society the place non secular leaders do what political leaders say.

Mr Trump risked additional alienating himself as he referred to as Ms Meloni “unacceptable” for her feedback, including that he was “shocked by her”.

“I thought she was brave, but I was wrong,” he mentioned.

Iran seized the chance to name Mr Trump’s “insult” towards the Pope “unacceptable”.

“Your Excellency Pope Leo XIV, on behalf of the great nation of Iran, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency and declare that the desecration of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Prophet of peace and brotherhood, is unacceptable to any free person. I wish glory for you from Allah,” president Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X.

Former Maga ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, in the meantime, described the president’s depiction as Christ as “more than blasphemy. It’s an Antichrist spirit”.

“On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus … I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!”