Trump won't back down from Pope Leo feud sparked by "60 Minutes" report

Exclusive Politics Trump won't back down from Pope Leo feud sparked by "60 Minutes" report, tells CBS News pontiff should stay out of politics By Keith Sharman, Keith Sharman Keith Sharman is an Emmy Award-winning producer for 60 Minutes, specializing in major interviews, investigations, and stories about national security, politics, and sports. He has worked at 60 Minutes and CBS News for more than 25 years and has been honored with duPont-Columbia Awards. Read Full Bio Keith Sharman, Callie Teitelbaum, Roxanne Feitel April 13, 2026 / 5:36 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google President Trump told CBS News senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell that Pope Leo is "wrong on the issues" Monday after lashing out at the pontiff late Sunday, calling him "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" in a lengthy Truth Social post.In a phone interview, Mr. Trump confirmed that he had watched "60 Minutes," which highlighted Pope Leo's disapproval of mass deportations and the Iran war, before firing off the post. When asked if he plans to call the pope directly, Mr. Trump gave a firm "no.""He's wrong on the issues," Mr. Trump said of Pope Leo. "I don't think he should be getting into politics. I think he probably learned that from this." Mr. Trump also said he wasn't sure whether Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, would visit the States during Trump's presidency. "I have no idea," he said. "It's up to him, not up to me."The president admitted he was surprised by the backlash from the Christian right over the now-deleted AI image he posted to Truth Social Sunday night which depicted him as a Jesus-like figure. He said he thought the image was by "a very beautiful, talented artist," and he said he believed the photo intended to depict him as a doctor, and not Jesus."I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing — you had the Red Cross right there, you had, you know, medical people surrounding me. And I was like the doctor, you know, as a little fu...