President Donald Trump continued his criticism of Pope Leo XIV on Thursday – in part by making a false claim about the pope’s stance on nuclear weapons.
Asked by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins why he is fighting with the pope, Trump said he has “nothing against the pope” but that “I have to do what’s right.” He added moments later: “I’m not fighting with him. The pope made a statement. He says, Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s claim about the pope’s words is not true, as Collins immediately pointed out to him.
Pope Leo hasn’t made any statement saying Iran can have a nuclear weapon. In fact, the pope has repeatedly denounced nuclear weapons and made unequivocal calls for the countries of the world to abandon them.
The pope has also spoken out against the war the US and Israel launched against Iran in late February. But having made statements calling for an end to the conflict is simply not the same as having made statements endorsing Iran having nuclear weapons; many critics of the war have argued that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from developing these weapons.
Trump is free to argue that they’re wrong. But it’s incorrect to claim this position inherently means they’ve actually said Iran can have nuclear weapons.
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