Vice President JD Vance says he isn’t much fussed by new Pope Leo XIV’s criticism of him and President Donald Trump.
“I try not to play the politicization of the Pope game,” the vice president told podcast host Hugh Hewitt, responding to past tweets from Pope Leo—who slammed the Trump administration’s immigration policies and said Vance was “wrong” to say one should prioritize family’s needs over those of strangers.
“I’m sure he’s going to say a lot of things that I love,” Vance went on. “I’m sure he’ll say some things that I disagree with, but I’ll continue to pray for him and the church despite it all and through it all.”
His comments refer to an X post by the new Pope in February in which the Chicago-born cardinal took aim at the vice president for suggesting it is “more Christian” to prioritize the needs of your own family and community over those of a stranger.
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” Prevost wrote in his post, quoting from a linked article covering the fallout from Vance’s remarks, which included similar criticism from Prevost‘s papal predecessor, Pope Francis.
Prevost‘s account—from which he shared multiple articles criticising Trump‘s immigration policies—has come under increasing attack from MAGA voices since he was named as the new Pope on Thursday, with far-right commentator Laura Loomer describing him as “anti-MAGA” and “woke.”
During his Friday appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, tried to downplay the kind of influence history’s first U.S.-born pontiff might hope to wield over the White House.
“The Church is so much bigger than politics,” he told the show’s host. “And my attitude is, you know, the Church is about saving souls, and about spreading the Gospel. It‘s going to touch public policy from time to time as all human institutions do, but that‘s not really what it‘s about.”
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