‘Stick to morality!’ JD Vance takes swipe at Vatican as Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo escalates

Dan McDonald
Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:54:11 +0000

Vice President JD Vance has urged the Vatican to focus on morality as tensions between the Trump administration and the Holy See continue to escalate.

Fox News host Bret Baier grilled Mr Vance on Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV after the Pontiff spoke out against US military action against Iran.

The Vice President insisted that Mr Trump is responsible for setting US public policy.

He said: “In some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what's going on in the Catholic Church."

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“Let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” he added.

Mr Vance continued: “But when they're in conflict, they're in conflict. I don't worry about it too much.

"I think it's a natural thing, it's not that big of a deal."

The feud between the President and the Pontiff erupted last week after Pope Leo launched a scathing attack on Mr Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilisation, branding the remarks “truly unacceptable”.

On Sunday, the Pope issued a fresh rebuke over the US conflict with Iran, condemning what he described as a “delusion of omnipotence” fuelling war - in an apparent swipe at Mr Trump.

However, this is not the first time the Pope has criticised the Trump administration.

Last year, the 70-year-old Chicago-born Pontiff also questioned Mr Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, saying: “I don’t know if that’s ⁠pro-life.”

On Sunday, the Republican leader hit back, branding the Catholic leader “weak” and “terrible”.

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In an extraordinary post on Truth Social, the President said Pope Leo was “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy”.

He also accused the Pontiff of believing “it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.

He further claimed the Catholic Church chose an American to lead the Vatican because they “thought it was the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump”.

Concluding his message, Mr Trump said: "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!"

The President's comments follow a reportedly contentious meeting between the Holy See's former ambassador to the US Cardinal Christophe Pierre and the Pentagon.

But on Monday, the Pope appeared to shrug off the comments, insisting he had “no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel”.

Speaking to reporters aboard his plane, he said: “We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective (as) he might understand it.

“But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

On Palm Sunday, the Pontiff also used the occasion to call for peace in the Middle East, declaring: “Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.

“He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war but rejects them.”