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Catholic Vance Asked To Defend Trump’s Jesus Meme Post

Catholic Vance Asked To Defend Trump's Jesus Meme Post (Screenshot/Fox News)

Vice President JD Vance addressed President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post on Monday, responding to a question about the message’s intent and public reaction.

Trump late Sunday posted an image showing an apparent depiction of himself as Jesus Christ healing a sick patient. There was no caption and no immediate clarity on whether the image was generated using artificial intelligence. Appearing on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Vance said he believed Trump used humor in the post and characterized the reaction as a misunderstanding.

“As a Catholic, how do you consider this Truth Social post and then the post of the picture, which a lot of people took as the president posting a picture of himself as Jesus?” Baier asked Vance.

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“I think the president was posting a joke and, of course, he took it down because he recognized that a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor in that case. I think the president of the United States likes to mix it up on social media,” Vance said. “And I actually think that’s one of the good things about this president is that he’s not filtered. He doesn’t send everything through a communications professional. He actually reaches out directly to the people.”

Vance acknowledged policy disagreements with the Vatican, saying such differences are expected and routine between elected officials and religious leadership.

“When it comes to the disagreements with the Vatican, look, we’re going to have disagreements, Bret, from time to time. I think it’s a good thing, actually, that the pope is advocating for the things that he cares about,” Vance added. “But we’re always going to have disagreements on matters of public policy. I should say sometimes we’re going to have disagreements on matters of public policy.”

Vance said the United States and the Vatican will continue to disagree on policy issues.

“The pope has been critical of our immigration policy, but ultimately the immigration policy of the United States is set by Donald Trump. The pope is going to have disagreements on other issues. We can respect the pope. We certainly have a good relationship with the Vatican, but we’re also going to disagree on substantive questions from time to time. I think that’s a totally reasonable thing. It isn’t particularly newsworthy,” Vance said.

The image first surfaced on conservative commentator Nick Adams’ X account on Feb. 4 and quickly drew condemnation online, with some users labeling the depiction offensive and irreverent. Trump later deleted the post Monday morning after it sparked a surge of criticism, including pushback from members of his own party.

Prior to posting the image, Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV in a Sunday night Truth Social post, describing the pontiff as “weak” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy. He also accused the pope of overlooking past restrictions on religious gatherings during COVID-19, saying that churches faced unfair treatment while attempting to hold services under distancing guidelines.

The pope responded Monday. He told reporters the Vatican’s position on peace reflects its religious mission and said he is not intimidated by possible reactions from the Trump administration.

“I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,'” Leo said. “I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox News)