Trump Says Pope Leo Is ‘Endangering a Lot of Catholics’

President Donald Trump continued his attacks on Pope Leo XIV on Monday, claiming the pontiff is “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his criticisms of the Iran war.

The president made his remark during a phone interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, who asked Trump whether he would speak with the pope about Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai. Lai, a vocal free speech advocate, was arrested in 2020 and charged with counts including the publishing of “seditious material” in a ruling widely condemned as politically motivated.

Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in December to “consider” Lai’s release. In light of the president’s upcoming meeting with the Chinese president, Hewitt asked Trump if he would bring up Lai’s arrest for a second time while noting that he wished the Pope would discuss the case as well.

“You know, you’re going to China. Let’s talk about that, Mr. President,” he said. “You’ve had this back and forth with Pope Leo. I wish Pope Leo would talk about Jimmy Lai. You talk about Jimmy Lai with the chairman. Will you be bringing him up again?”

The president said that he would bring up Lai to Xi, before Hewitt interjected to express his desire, yet again, that the Pope discuss the jailed publisher. Trump told the radio host that Pope Leo “would rather talk” about the Iran war, claiming the pontiff believed it was “just fine” for Iran to possess nuclear weapons.

Read their exchange below:

TRUMP: I will. I brought him up, and there’s a lot of– there’s a little bitterness, I would say, with him and Jimmy Lia. You know, he was– Hong Kong was not as easy. But I will be– I will be bringing him up. Yeah, I just–

HEWITT: I wish the Pope would. I want the Pope to talk about Jimmy Lia, and I want you to bring him home. That would be a good deal.

TRUMP: Well, the Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the Pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

The Pope previously condemned Trump’s threat to wipe out a “whole civilization” in Iran if a deal was not reached, later speaking out against the war, saying, “God does not bless any conflict.” Trump has repeatedly attacked Pope Leo since his initial post last month, accusing Pope Leo of being “WEAK on Crime.” Reporters pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday over whether his recently announced trip to Italy, where he will meet with the Pope, was an effort to smooth over tensions.

“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage, and other secretaries of state have done that in the past,” Rubio said.

Watch above via the Hugh Hewitt Show.

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