In an interview with CBS News, Trump has also escalated his public feud with Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, arguing that the pontiff should stay out of politics and attacking his stance on crime, foreign policy and the Iran conflict. The dispute comes amid a wider clash over the pope’s condemnation of the Iran war and of mass deportations, issues on which the Vatican has taken an increasingly vocal stance. Trump said he removed the image to avoid confusion over its religious symbolism.