He also suggested that the pontiff was elected “because he was 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.”

Asked by reporters to explain the post, he later said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess.”

Trump added: “He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man who doesn’t believe in stopping crime, he’s a man who doesn’t believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.”

In response, the Pope told reporters on board his plane to Algiers that he did not see his role as that of a politician but as one of spreading the message of peace.

“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 here to do, what the Church is here to do,” he told reporters.

“I don’t want to get into a debate with [Trump],” he added.