VP JD Vance Responds After Pope Leo Downplays Feud With President Trump

Pope Leo just addressed his ongoing feud with President Trump.

In an apparent attempt to ease off the tension, he referred to it as a “narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.”

He also said that he is not interested in debating the president and plans to stick to his message of “peace.”

Watch this for yourself:

NEW: Pope Leo downplays tensions with President Trump, addressing a "narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects."

He says it is “not in my interest at all” to debate the president and will keep preaching a message of peace. pic.twitter.com/DwG6BiUsaP

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 18, 2026

Just in case you don’t know the situation, I’ll provide a little background.

Pope Leo recently came out as fully against the Iran war.

He (falsely) claimed that “God does not bless any conflict” — to which, President Trump absolutely let him have it!

Over the last week, President Trump has repeatedly blasted the first-ever American pope, beginning with this scathing post on Truth Social:

Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! 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. And 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, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Frankly, the narrative seems pretty cut-and-dry, to me.

But, Vice President JD Vance, who is a Catholic himself, just backed up the pope.

In a post on X, he implied that the reality of the matter is much more subtle than the media would have you believe.

Read VP Vance’s statement here:

I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict–and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen–the reality is often much more complicated.

Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he… https://t.co/SxWCKyhDSj

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 18, 2026

I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict–and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen–the reality is often much more complicated.

Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President–and the entire administration–work to apply those moral principles in a messy world.

He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.

Previously, VP Vance warned that the pope should be “careful” when talking about theology.

This was in response to Pope Leo saying that Jesus “is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”

VP Vance fully rebuked Pope Leo on that one, noting that there are so many examples of just wars based on Biblical theology.

Watch here:

JD Vance sharply responds to Pope Leo XIV:

“When the Pope says God is never on the side of those who wield the sword, there is more than a thousand-year tradition of Just War Theory in Christianity.”

“Just as I have to be careful when speaking about public policy as Vice… pic.twitter.com/IdKDxTEW6p

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 14, 2026

JD Vance sharply responds to Pope Leo XIV:

“When the Pope says God is never on the side of those who wield the sword, there is more than a thousand-year tradition of Just War Theory in Christianity.”

“Just as I have to be careful when speaking about public policy as Vice President, the Pope should be very careful when speaking about theology.”

“If you’re going to opine on matters of theology, it must be anchored in truth. That’s what I strive for, and it’s exactly what we should expect from the clergy, Catholic or Protestant.”

What do you think?

Do you agree with JD Vance’s take?