Vice President JD Vance invoked World War II on Tuesday to defend the U.S. bombing of Iran from criticism by Pope Leo XIV, extending the Trump administration’s spat with the Catholic Church and underlining the White House’s struggle to justify an unpopular war.
Mr. Vance, who is Catholic, told a conservative audience at the University of Georgia that the pope was wrong to say that disciples of Christ are “never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis?” Mr. Vance said after referring to the pope’s comment. “I certainly think the answer is yes.”
President Trump has appeared stung by Leo’s condemnation of the war, criticism that has highlighted the challenge the administration faces from the coalition of conservative and religious voters who helped elect Mr. Trump in 2024. The president lashed out at the pope on Sunday in a social media post that called the first American-born pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
Leo has stuck to his antiwar stance, telling reporters Monday that he had “no fear of the Trump administration.” Without mentioning Iran or Mr. Trump, the pope posted on social media on Tuesday that “God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies.”
The back-and-forth has presented a particular quandary for Mr. Vance, a convert to Catholicism who is publishing a book about his path to the faith and who has long courted the Republican religious base. Asked about the debate between Mr. Trump and the pope at an Athens, Ga., event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA, Mr. Vance admonished Leo, saying that if he was “going to opine on matters of theology,” his comments needed to be “anchored in the truth.”
“In the same 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,” Mr. Vance said.
But the vice president also echoed the diplomatic approach he took on Fox News on Monday in playing down the political disagreement.
“I have a lot of respect for the pope. I like him. I admire him. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit,” Mr. Vance said. “It doesn’t bother me when he speaks on issues of the day — frankly, even when I disagree with how he’s applying a particular principle.”
Moments later, someone in the crowd interrupted, yelling, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” It was an apparent reference to Israel’s war in Gaza, or the Iran war, in which a fragile cease-fire has held since last week.
“I agree,” Mr. Vance responded. “Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide, whoever yelled that out from the dark.”
Ben Shpigel contributed reporting from New York.
Anton Troianovski writes about American foreign policy and national security for The Times from Washington. He was previously a foreign correspondent based in Moscow and Berlin.
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