Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” when he talks about theology, rebuking the pontiff over his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy.
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Vance argued that the pope, who has said Jesus “is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” was failing to take into account conflicts such as World War II.
“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those, those innocent people, you know, those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes,” he said at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia.
Vance, who is Catholic and met with the pope in May, said that he likes it when the pope weighs in on issues such as abortion, immigration or “matters of war and peace” but that he sometimes disagrees with him.
Attendees at the Turning Point USA event Tuesday. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
“Now we can, of course, have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just, but I think in the way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said.
“But I think one of the issues here is that if you’re going to opine on matters of theology, you’ve got to be careful. You’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth, and that’s one of the things that I try to do, and it’s certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant,” he added.
The pope and President Donald Trump have exchanged barbs over the past several days, with the pope denouncing the war in Iran and Trump responding by saying Leo was “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks with Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet during a Turning Point USA event at Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center on April 14, 2026 in Athens, GA.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Leo, asked by NBC News about Trump’s words, said he has “no fear” of the Trump administration. He also vowed to keep up his appeals for peace, saying they were rooted in Gospel.
Trump’s digs at the pope caused upheaval among the Catholic community in America, with clergy defending Leo and saying Trump’s attacks were inappropriate.
They came shortly before Trump posted an AI image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure. He deleted the post following pushback from supporters and allies. The next day, Trump said that he thought the image was a reference to the Red Cross and that it depicted him as a physician healing a patient.
