Trump refuses to meet the Pope after scathing attack saying ‘it’s not necessary’

Donald Trump won’t be meeting the Pope anytime soon as he said it wasn’t ‘necessary’ to meet with the Pontiff over their ‘differences’ after the President unleashed an embarrassing attack on him

Donald Trump has said he won’t be meeting the Pope after unleashing a scathing attack on the pontiff because he doesn’t think it’s “necessary”.

Speaking with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, the US President was questioned about Iran and the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and whether he’d meet with the Pope because of their “differences”.

Asked about his viral fight with the Pope, who this afternoon hit out at “tyrants” spending billions waging war, Trump said: “It’s very important that the Pope understands… Iran killed 42,000 people that were totally unarmed.”

He added Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and said the Pope must understand this. Asked if he would meet with the Pope to “even out their differences”, Trump says: “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

When he’s asked if the fight was upsetting his Catholic supporters, he responded: “No, no, no, I don’t. I have to do what’s right.” He added “I have nothing against the Pope” but “I can disagree with the Pope… I have a right to disagree with the Pope”. Trump said he knows the Pope’s brother who he says is “MAGA all the way”.

Taking more questions from reporters Trump was asked whether the two-week ceasefire with Iran, due to end next Wednesday, will be extended. He said “we are dealing very nicely” with Iran and that he’s not sure if it is necessary to extend the truce. He warned again that if Tehran does not agree to a deal, the fighting will resume.

Of the Israel and Lebanon ceasefire, Trump said he thinks Hezbollah will keep to the ceasefire before calling it “exciting”.

On the US blockade of Iranian ports, which has been in place since Monday, Trump said the US is “doing very well” with it and that the operation is “very routine for us”. He added: “The navy is incredible. No ship is even thinking about entering. No ship is going past our navy.”

Adding that Iran is unable to do “any business” due to the blockade, Trump said: “The blockade is maybe more powerful than the bombing, if you want to know the truth.”

It comes after Trump unleashed a remarkable rant against the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo. Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump lambasted Pope Leo as “Weak on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Trump didn’t stop there, criticising the Pope’s purported views on migration, the conflict in Iran, and the handling of the 2020 Covid pandemic, where he alleges priests were arrested for conducting church services. Trump even took a personal swipe at Pope Leo, adding, “I like his brother Louis much better”.

His post stated: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.

“And I don’t want a Pope who criticises the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do…”

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician,” Trump posted on Truth Social.