Vice President JD Vance is making no secret of where he stands in the ongoing debate over immigration and the Vatican’s role in it. The Catholic convert recently said he disagrees with Pope Leo’s position on immigration while expressing hope that the pontiff will eventually see merit in the Trump administration’s approach.
The comments add another chapter to the growing public back-and-forth between Donald Trump’s White House and the Vatican over immigration policy. While Vance insisted respectful disagreement is healthy, he also suggested Pope Leo should reconsider his perspective after hearing the administration’s arguments.
JD Vance disagrees with Pope Leo’s position on immigration and hopes he “learns” from Trump’s policies
During an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Vance addressed Pope Leo’s repeated criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. “I do think that some of the things that have come out of the Vatican on the immigration question in particular have been troubling, and ultimately I disagree with it,” Vance said on The Ingraham Angle.
Still, the Vice President emphasized that disagreements between political leaders and religious figures should remain constructive.
“I actually like this interplay between the pope, between Christian clergy, and between the administration,” Vance said on The Ingraham Angle. He added, “We don’t always have to agree on these issues, but I think the fact that we’re actually having the right conversations… that’s a natural and reasonable thing to do.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, went a step further by saying he hopes Pope Leo has “learned from some of the things that me, and Marco [Rubio] and President [Donald Trump] have said about immigration.”
The Vice President argued that immigration debates should also consider Americans affected by large-scale migration. “It’s not just about the dignity of the immigrant, it’s also about the dignity of the native-born people who have had their lives upended,” he said during the interview.
Pope Leo has repeatedly voiced concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. According to Reuters, the pontiff has called for a “deep reflection” on how migrants are treated in the United States and has criticized what he described as the “inhuman” treatment of immigrants.
Despite their policy differences, Vance maintained that continued dialogue between political leaders and the Vatican is both necessary and worthwhile.
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