JD Vance has offered pointed advice to Pope Leo XIV amid growing tension between the pontiff and Donald Trump. The Vice President’s remark comes amid a recent clash between the Pope and the president.
JD Vance gives advice to Pope
During a recent interview on Fox News on Monday, April 13, JD Vance suggested that Pope Leo XIV should leave U.S. policy to President Donald Trump and “stick to matters of morality.” The Vice President’s statement comes shortly after Trump penned a lengthy criticism against the pontiff on Truth Social.
Speaking with Fox News’ Brett Baier, Vance stated, “I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.” He added, “To stick to matters of, you know, what’s going on in the Catholic Church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy. But when they’re in conflict, they’re in conflict.”
Prior to the VP’s comments, Trump had criticized Pope Leo in a Truth Social post, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” The POTUS added, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.”
Trump further declared, “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.”
Pope Leo responded to the attack, speaking with reporters during his flight to Algeria. “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,” the pontiff stated (via Vatican News).
He added, “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
