Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said he had no desire to amplify the “narrative” he and President Donald Trump are locked in an ongoing feud – despite the two men trading their fair share of shots in the press recently.

The pope said it was it was “not in my best interest at all” to publicly debate the president on the Iran war,  while speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane as he flew from Cameroon to Angola.

“There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself,” Pope Leo said. 

He continued, “Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said.”

His remarks come after the Trump-Leo feud was perhaps the biggest story of the last week, following the president’s searing social media rant against the pope on April 12. Trump ripped Leo for being “WEAK” on crime and the issue of a nuclear Iran, before adding he was a bigger fan of the pope’s brother, Louis Prevost, because he is a “big MAGA person.”

Trump’s post followed Pope Leo ramping up his criticism of the Iran war the week prior.

The pope condemned Trump’s threat to wipe out a “whole civilization” in Iran if its theocratic leaders did not make a deal, calling it “truly unacceptable.” He then spoke out against the war three days later, saying, “God does not bless any conflict.”

Trump declined to apologize for his post against the pope last week, saying, “there’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong!” The president has also said the pope should be upset about tens of thousands of Iranian protesters being killed by the country’s theocratic regime.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) backed up Trump while speaking to reporters on Wednesday, saying that if the pope is going to weigh in on political topics, he “should expect some political response.”

Trump seemed to be aiming to tone down the war of words on Friday, telling reporters, “I have nothing against the pope… the pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants. But I can disagree.”

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