JD Vance extends olive branch to Pope Leo amid their feud and says he’s ‘grateful’ for pontiff’s words on Trump
Vice President J.D. Vance thanked Pope Leo XIV on Saturday for comments that eased tensions with President Donald Trump after a public row.
The pope, who is traveling to Angola during his tour of Africa, said international media was promoting ‘a certain narrative that is not true in every respect’.
He added that he has consistently opposed not just the conflict in Iran but war in general, and clarified on Thursday that his remarks about “a handful of tyrants” spending billions of dollars on war in Cameroon were not directed at Trump.
He also said the speech was prepared two weeks ago, ‘long before the President commented on me and the message of peace that I support.’
While Vance, a Catholic, welcomed the statement, he also acknowledged that there were real differences of opinion between the administration and the pope.
‘I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. “While the media narrative constantly portrays conflicts (yes, there have been and will be real conflicts), the reality is often much more complex,” Vance wrote to X.
‘Pope Leo preaches the gospel as it should be preached, and this will inevitably mean offering his opinions on the moral issues of the day. “The president – and the entire administration – is trying to apply these moral principles in a complex world,” he added. ‘He will be in our prayers and I hope we will be in his prayers too.’
Trump’s feud with the pope began last week, when the pope condemned the president’s warning that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not meet its deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Pope Leo XIV spoke to reporters on Saturday before flying to Angola as part of his African tour. He downplayed tensions between himself and Trump, something for which Vice President J.D. Vance was “grateful”
President Trump shared a long post on Truth Social calling the pope weak on foreign policy issues after Leo criticized him for his threats against Iran and its people.
“Today, as we all know, there was a threat to the entire Iranian people, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said in a statement on April 7.
‘People want peace,’ he added. ‘I invite citizens of all concerned countries to contact officials (political leaders, members of congress) and ask them to work for peace.’
Pope Leo also said that attacks on civilian infrastructure ‘contrary international law’. Trump has previously threatened to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran.
On April 12, Trump published a lengthy statement to Truth Social, accusing Pope Leo of being ‘POOR on crime’ and ‘terrible on Foreign Policy’.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons,” Trump wrote, adding: “And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States for doing exactly what I was elected to do, IN A LANDSLIDE.”
The next day, Trump followed up by posting an AI-generated photo of himself in red-and-white robes. He apparently healed the sick with his hands; This is something Jesus is said to have done in the Bible.
The commander in chief quickly deleted the post after it sparked harsh backlash from Catholics and even religious MAGA supporters.
When asked about the issue, Trump said he thought the image was “me as the doctor.”
Vance (pictured at the Turning USA event in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday) came to Trump’s defense in his fight with the pope. He said Pope should ‘be careful when talking about matters of theology’
Vance said this photo of Trump sharing a Christ-like figure was a ‘joke’
Vance, Trump’s number two, joined Trump’s defense as the debacle continued. At the Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, Vance said the pope should ‘be careful when talking 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.
Going forward, he said, the Pope should remember just war theory, the idea that armed conflict can be justified if it meets certain criteria, such as self-defense or stopping another power’s aggression.
Vance questioned whether God would be on the side of the Americans who saved Europe from the Nazis in World War II.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Vance said Trump’s portrayal of himself as a Christ-like figure was a “joke” and that Trump pulled it off on his own because he “realized a lot of people didn’t understand his humor.”
