Vice President JD Vance thanked Pope Leo XIV on Saturday after the pontiff sought to downplay a days-long clash with President Trump and said he didn\u2019t want to engage in a public debate with the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pope said earlier on Saturday that some of the coverage of his comments throughout his papal visit to Africa portrayed a \u201ccertain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He referred to a speech he delivered in Cameroon in which he criticized those who \u201cmanipulate religion\u201d for political and military gain, saying it was \u201cprepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and the message of peace that I am promoting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not my interest at all,\u201d Leo said aboard a plane to Angola. \u201cSo we go on the journey. We continue proclaiming the gospel message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance, a Catholic, took to social media on Saturday night to write that he was \u201cgrateful\u201d to the pope for his comment. The pair met when Vance visited the Vatican in May 2025, shortly after Leo was named the first U.S.-born pope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile the media narrative constantly gins up conflict\u2013and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen\u2013the reality is often much more complicated,\u201d Vance wrote on the social platform X. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vice president added that because the pope \u201cpreaches the gospel, as he should,\u201d that would \u201cinevitably mean he offers his opinions on moral issues of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe President\u2013and the entire administration\u2013work to apply those moral principles in a messy world,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cHe will be in our prayers, and I hope that we\u2019ll be in his.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A rift between the Trump administration and the Vatican emerged over the past week, as the president has repeatedly lashed out at the pontiff over his opposition to the conflict with Iran several times, and the pope has responded with both veiled and unusually pointed remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pope labeled Trump\u2019s threat to wipe out Iran\u2019s \u201cwhole civilization\u201d if Tehran did not come to the negotiating table as \u201ctruly unacceptable\u201d last week, prompting the president to write on Truth Social that the pontiff was \u201cWEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A back-and-forth ensued over the next several days, with senior Trump administration officials jumping in to defend the president\u2019s rhetoric and offer their own criticisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House Border Czar Tom Homan told Leo to \u201cleave politics alone,\u201d and Vance warned him to \u201cbe careful\u201d when speaking about theology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one of the issues here is that if you\u2019re going to opine on matters of theology, you\u2019ve got to be careful,\u201d the vice president said during a Turning Point USA Event in Athens, Ga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to make sure it\u2019s anchored in the truth, and that\u2019s one of the things that I try to do, and it\u2019s certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they\u2019re Catholic or Protestant.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump seemed to adopt a softer tone toward the head of the Catholic Church by the end of the week, telling reporters he wasn\u2019t fighting with the pope and had a \u201cright to disagree\u201d with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has insisted he will not apologize for his comments, even amid concern about how the spat could impact his approval rating among Catholic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n