Vice President JD Vance hailed Pope Leo XIV on Saturday for dialing down tensions in his explosive clash with President Trump over the Iran war.
Vance said he was “grateful” to Leo for making clear that it’s “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump, after warning earlier this month that God doesn’t hear the prayers of war-waging leaders with “hands full of blood” – a sermon that ignited a fiery feud with the president.
“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,” he posted on X Saturday night.
“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.”
Vance’s olive branch came after the first US pontiff weighed in on his public spat with Trump earlier in the day.
Leo told reporters he was preaching about global peace and an end to all wars – not taking aim at the US-Israel conflict with Iran that erupted Feb. 28.
“There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself,” he said on the papal plane during his 11-day tour of Africa.
“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said.”
Leo pointed to unusually blunt remarks he made earlier this week — amid his dispute with Trump — where he blasted that the world is “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”
“And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all,” the Chicago-born pope said, adding he would continue to call for world peace.
The squabble exploded last month when Leo branded the Iran conflict “atrocious” and declared Jesus cannot be used to justify any wars.
He also previously said “delusion of omnipotence” was fueling the war.
Trump lashed out on Truth Social, slamming Leo as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” and insisting he doesn’t “want a Pope who criticizes” him for doing what he “was elected” to do.
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