U.S. President Donald Trump launched a sharp rhetorical attack against Pope Leo XIV and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson following their recent meeting in Rome, suggesting that Vatican officials should have cautioned the pontiff against hosting the Democratic leader, whom he labelled as “useless”.

Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday (May 30, 2026), the Republican leader expressed his disapproval of the diplomatic engagement in Italy. “Someone should explain to the Pope that the Mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon!” Mr. Trump wrote.

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As part of his digital broadside, the U.S. President attached screenshots of social media updates previously uploaded by Mr. Johnson on X, which documented the mayor’s audience with the head of the Catholic Church at the Vatican on Friday (May 29, 2026). The shared photographs captured Mr. Johnson presenting the pontiff with a miniature version of the Chicago municipal flag. The duo was also seen smiling while displaying a Chicago Cubs baseball cap, a notable gesture given that the pontiff is widely known to be a supporter of the rival White Sox team.

Notably, Leo is the first American to ascend to the papacy and was born in Chicago. The sharp remarks from the U.S. President appear to have reignited his highly publicised friction with the head of the Vatican. Mr. Trump has previously targeted the pontiff over the latter’s vocal Opposition to the military conflict involving Iran. Furthermore, the President has previously accused the religious leader of being “weak” on criminal justice matters, while aggressively asserting that the pontiff was comfortable with Tehran acquiring atomic capabilities.

Detailing his grievances regarding global security and foreign policy directions, Mr. Trump reiterated his staunch opposition to the pontiff’s theological and political stances. “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,” he wrote. In the same statement, the President firmly rejected external oversight regarding his domestic mandate, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who criticises the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected to do.

Expanding on his security concerns, Mr. Trump has also charged the pontiff with “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people”, alleging that the religious leader’s diplomatic stances inadvertently condone the development of nuclear armaments by the Iranian regime. The Vatican has not shied away from the political crossfire, with the pontiff having previously addressed the steady stream of criticism emanating from Washington. Reaffirming his theological independence, the Pope previously stated that he is “not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (September 1, 2025) claimed that India has now “offered” to cut its tariffs to nothing, “but it’s getting late”, as he said that India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia and very little from the U.S.

“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He added that India sells to the U.S., its biggest “client”, “massive” amounts of goods, “but we sell them very little – Until now a totally one-sided relationship, and it has been for many decades.”

“The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India,” he said. “It has been a totally one-sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.

The Mr. Trump administration has imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on India and an additional 25% levies for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties imposed on India to 50%, among the highest in the world.

India has called the tariffs imposed by the U.S. “unjustified and unreasonable”. New Delhi said that, like any major economy, it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.

Prime Minister Modi has asserted he can’t compromise on the interests of farmers, cattle-rearers, small-scale industries, cautioning “pressure on us may increase, but we will bear it”.