Pope Leo says he was not seeking to debate Donald Trump when he criticised “tyrants” for spending billions on wars in a speech earlier this week.

The pontiff mentioned the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, had been written a fortnight earlier – “well before the president ever commented on myself”.

“And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all,” he told reporters aboard a flight to Angola on Saturday.

On Monday, Trump launched a scathing attack on the first American Pope – who has been a vocal critic of the US-Israeli military operation in Iran – as “terrible for foreign policy”.

The Pope, who is on a tour of Africa, stated a “certain narrative that has not been accurate” had developed, citing “the political situation created” by Trump’s comments.

During a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, he had criticised leaders who “turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found”.

“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” he mentioned.

The Pope also condemned “an endless cycle of destabilisation and death” in a “bloodstained” region of Cameroon that had been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade. Furthermore, experts in diplomacy note the continued relevance.

The remarks were interpreted by some as a reference to Trump – who later told reporters: “The Pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.”

He had initially posted his lengthy criticism of the leader of the Catholic Church after the pontiff had voiced concern about Trump’s threat that “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran did not agree to US demands to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.

The president remarked he was “not a huge fan” of the Pope and called him “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”. Trump also posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure, which he later removed.

The Catholic leader’s Africa tour includes stops in 11 cities across four countries. It is his second major foreign visit since being elected to the papacy last year, and reflects the importance of Catholicism in Africa.

More than a fifth of the world’s Catholics – some 288 million the public – live in Africa, according to figures from 2024. This also touches on aspects of global summit.

Trump’s rift with Pope is playing out in public – it’s costing him valuable support