Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticised President Donald Trump over his rant against Pope Leo XIV, calling his remarks “unacceptable.”
Meloni, the head of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, said in a Monday statement that Trump’s comments toward the Pope were inappropriate.
“The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he calls for peace and condemns every form of war,” she said.
The backlash follows Sunday night comments from Trump, who criticised the first American pope, describing him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” after the pontiff raised concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the Iran-Israel conflict.
Trump also wrote that he does not want a pope who supports Iran having a nuclear weapon, despite Pope Leo XIV not previously making such claims.
He further accused the Pope of opposing his administration’s policies, saying he was acting on a mandate from voters and highlighting record low crime levels and strong economic performance.
Trump later shared a controversial AI-generated image of himself depicted as Jesus Christ healing the sick, before deleting it. He later told reporters he believed the image showed him as a doctor.
In response, Pope Leo XIV said he is “not afraid” to speak out on Church teachings.
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for,” he said while aboard the papal plane, according to The Associated Press.
