Vice President JD Vance expressed his gratitude towards Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, following remarks that seemed to ease the ongoing tensions between the Pope and President Donald Trump after their recent public disagreement.
During his diplomatic mission in Africa, specifically while visiting Angola, the Pope addressed the media, suggesting that the international press had propagated a ‘certain narrative’ that was not entirely truthful.
Pope Leo emphasized his longstanding opposition to warfare in general, not just the conflict in Iran, and clarified that his comments made in Cameroon on Thursday about a ‘handful of tyrants’ pouring money into wars were not aimed at Trump.
He further noted that the speech in question had been prepared two weeks earlier, ‘well before the president made any remarks about me or the peace message I am advocating.’
Vance, a practicing Catholic, welcomed this clarification, although he acknowledged that genuine differences of opinion exist between the current administration and the Pope.
“I appreciate Pope Leo’s comments,” Vance posted on X. “While the media often amplifies conflicts—and indeed, real disagreements do arise—the truth is usually more nuanced.”
‘Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President – and the entire administration – work to apply those moral principles in a messy world,’ he added. ‘He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.’
Trump’s feud with the pope kick off last week, when the pontiff condemned the president’s warning that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if Iran failed to meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Pope Leo XIV spoke to reporters on Saturday before his flight left for Angola as part of his Africa tour. He downplayed the tension between him and Trump, something Vice President JD Vance was ‘grateful’ for
President Trump made a lengthy post to Truth Social calling the pope weak on matters of foreign policy after Leo criticized him for his threats against Iran and its people
‘Today, as we all know, there was this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,’ the pontiff said on April 7.
‘People want peace,’ he added. ‘I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities – political leaders, congressmen – to ask them to work for peace.’
Pope Leo also said attacks on civilian infrastructure ‘are against international law’. Trump had previously threatened to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran.
On April 12, Trump posted a lengthy statement to Truth Social accusing Pope Leo of being ‘WEAK on crime’ and ‘terrible for Foreign Policy’.
‘I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,’ Trump wrote, adding, ‘And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.’
The next day, Trump followed this up by posting an AI-generated image of himself in red-and-white robes. He appeared to be healing the sick with his hands, something Jesus was said to have done in the Bible.
The commander in chief quickly deleted the post after it prompted strong backlash from Catholics and even religious MAGA supporters.
When asked about it, Trump said he thought the image ‘was me as a doctor’.
Vance (pictured at a Turning Point USA event on Tuesday in Athens, Georgia) has come to the defense of Trump in his feud with the pope. He said the pontiff should ‘be careful when he talks about matters of theology’
Vance said this image Trump posted of himself as a Jesus-like figure was ‘a joke’
As Trump’s number two, Vance came to his defense while the debacle played out. On Tuesday, during a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, Vance said the pope should ‘be careful when he talks about matters of theology’.
He also said that it doesn’t bother him when the pope speaks about ‘issues of the day’, adding that Christian leaders should comment on public policy.
After that, he said the pope needs to remember the just war theory, the idea that armed conflict can be justified if it meets certain criteria, such as self-defense or to stop aggression from another power.
Vance questioned if God would be on the side of the Americans who liberated Europe from the Nazis in World War II.
And in a Fox News interview on Monday, Vance said Trump posting himself as a Jesus-like figure was ‘a joke’ and that Trump alone took it down ‘because he recognized that a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor’.
