- U.S. President Donald Trump was asked Thursday to explain his feud with Pope Leo after his scathing verbal attack on the pontiff Sunday night led to a back-and-forth this week over the war in Iran.
- “I have to do what's right,” Trump said when a reporter asked why he is fighting with the pope. “The pope has to understand that, very simple. I have nothing against the pope, his brother’s Maga all the way. I like his brother, Louis. I'm not fighting with him.”
- Trump continued, “The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if the pope looked at the 42,000 people that were killed over the last two or three months - as a protester with no weapons, no nothing. I mean, you take a look at that. I have a right to disagree with the pope.”
- The pope has repeatedly spoken out against nuclear weapons and called for a world without them. Trump went on to say that the US is “very close to making a deal” with Iran, before continuing on with his remarks about Pope Leo.
- “The pope has to understand that this is the real world. It's a nasty world,” Trump said. “But as far as the pope and saying what he wants, he can do that. ... I'm sure the Pope is a great guy. I haven't met him but I disagree with the pope, if the pope would allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
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