Trump doubles down in criticizing Pope Leo

U.S. President Donald Trump, whose war and immigration policies have been condemned by Pope Leo, reiterated his criticism of the religious leader on Tuesday night.



In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged that "someone please tell Pope Leo" about the killings of protesters by Iran and that "for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable."



Trump's comments come after Pope Leo warned earlier in the day of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny".



The first U.S. pope, Leo wrote in a letter issued by the Vatican about the use of power in democratic societies, and said democracies remained healthy only when they were rooted in moral values.



The pope has criticized Trump’s decision to launch the war against Iran, saying God rejects the prayers of those who launch wars and have "hands full of blood."



The pope termed Trump's threat this month to destroy the Iranian civilization as unacceptable and previously declined to join the U.S.president's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative for Gaza.