Pope Leo has said he has “no fear” of the Donald Trump administration, as tensions between the pontiff and the U.S. president continue to escalate.

Speaking aboard the papal plane, the pontiff addressed the growing dispute directly, saying: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do.”

He added: “We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the gospel, as a peacemaker.”

The clash has intensified in recent days following the pope’s criticism of Trump’s rhetoric on Iran and a series of social media posts from the president targeting Pope Leo personally.

Last week, the pope criticised Trump’s public threats to “wipe out” Iranian civilisation, saying “attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law."

In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump described Leo as “terrible” and said he was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy."

In response, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, rebuked Trump’s remarks.

“I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father," he wrote. "Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

Trump has also faced backlash from some Christians after posting an AI-generated image appearing to depict himself as Jesus. Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene described the image as “more than blasphemy” and an “anti-Christ spirit." 

On Monday, Trump defended the post, saying it was intended to portray him “as a doctor," not as a Jesus-like figure.