Vice President JD Vance was questioned on Fox News about President Donald Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV.
Leo, the first pope born in America, has spoken out against Trump’s actions in the war with Iran and his statements that God supports the conflict.
On Sunday, Trump posted a harsh message calling the pope “WEAK” and said, “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.”
Trump also shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure helping a sick person.
This post got a lot of negative reactions, even from parts of the media that usually support the president. He later deleted the post.
Vance, who became a Catholic in 2019, appeared on Monday’s Special Report, where Bret Baier asked him about the image Trump posted.
“It really caused a big stir, Mr. Vice President,” Baier said.
“And I’m just wondering what you make of all of this and whether you think there’s something to this back and forth with the church.”
“Well, first of all, Bret, I think the president was posting a joke,” Vance replied.
“And, of course, he took it down because he realized a lot of people didn’t get his humor. I think the president of the United States likes to be bold on social media. And I actually think that’s one of the good things about this president, is that he doesn’t always go through a communications team before posting.”
The vice president added that Trump and Leo are “sometimes gonna have disagreements on matters of public policy.”
Baier mentioned Trump’s remarks accusing Leo of “catering to the Radical Left” and that this is “hurting” the pope “very badly.”
“Do you agree with the president there?”
Baier asked.
“I think the president has the right to decide American foreign policy,” Vance said.
“He has the right to set American immigration policy. He has to protect the interests of the United States of America. And that means when the Vatican speaks on issues of public policy, there will be times of agreement and times of disagreement.”
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