Trump posts image of himself as Jesus-like figure as Pope Leo responds to president's criticism

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump posted an image of himself as a god or Jesus-like figure.

Pope Leo has said he will keep speaking out against war after facing scathing criticism from Donald Trump, who branded the pontiff “weak”.

The US president, in a lengthy social media post, demanded that the head of the Catholic Church “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician”.

But the Pope has indicated he will continue to “stand up and say ‌there’s a better way”, although he also said he did not intend to “get into a debate” with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has accused the Pope, who leads the world’s estimated 1.4 billion Catholics, of being “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons” and said he should “stop catering to the Radical Left”.

The president also said the pontiff should be “thankful” to have become Pope last year, suggesting the first North American leader of the Catholic Church was chosen as someone who could “deal with” Mr Trump.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, where he also posted an image of himself as a god or Jesus-like figure, the president wrote: “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise.

“He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

Pope Leo was embarking on a 10-day tour in Africa (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Doubling down on his remarks, Mr Trump – who was among world leaders in attendance at Pope Francis’ funeral almost a year ago – also told reporters: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”

The pontiff has said he does not want to “get into a debate” with Mr Trump, adding that the message ‌of the Gospel was being “abused” by some people.

He told reporters onboard the papal plane as he embarked on a 10-day tour in Africa: “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”

He said “too many people are suffering in ‌the world today” and “too many innocent people are being killed”.

Let those who have the power to unleash wars, choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them

He added: “And I think someone has ‌to stand up and say ‌there’s a better way.”

In his Easter message earlier this month, the pontiff had strongly criticised war, calling on “those who have weapons (to) lay them down”.

He said: “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”

He said there now appeared to be a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people… to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow… to the economic and social consequences they produce”.