(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump, during a phone interview on Tuesday morning, accused Pope Leo XIV of “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his criticism of the war against Iran and said that the pontiff would rather talk about Iran than about China’s persecution of Catholic freedom advocate Jimmy Lai.

While discussing Lai and the president’s upcoming trip to China during a May 5 interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on the Salem News Network, the host asked Trump about his recent “back and forth” with Pope Leo, noting that he wished that the pontiff would talk about Lai.

The president responded by saying that the American pontiff would rather talk about how “it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” before accusing Leo of “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” for denouncing the Iran war.

“Well, the pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” than about Lai, Trump said.

“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people,” he added. “But I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly criticized Pope Leo for his comments denouncing the war with Iran. The president began his criticism of the Holy Father with a strongly-worded message posted on his Truth Social, slamming what he described as the pope’s position on crime, foreign policy, and American leadership.

READ: Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV after meeting with Obama adviser

Trump wrote that he did not want “a pope who thinks it’s ok for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and criticized the pontiff for meeting with Democrat strategist David Axelrod, who he said is hostile to religious freedom. He further stated that Pope Leo should “focus on being a great Pope, not a politician,” asserting that such conduct is harmful both to the Pope personally and to the Catholic Church.

Leo responded by saying that he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and that he is not a “politician.”

READ: Pope Leo responds to Trump criticism: ‘I have no fear of the Trump administration’

“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 called to do, what the Church is called to do,” the pontiff said. “We are not politicians. We are not dealing with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel: ‘blessed are the peacemakers,’ is a message the world needs to hear.”

Trump’s fresh criticism of Leo comes just two days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Catholic himself, is scheduled to meet with the American pontiff.