“I think the president of the United States likes to disrupt on social media,” Vice President J.D. Vance said.
President Trump says he has no obligation to apologize to the Pope
President Trump defended his comments criticizing Pope Leo over his stance on Iran and said he would not apologize.
After President Donald Trump faced backlash for posting an image of himself appearing to be a Christ-like figure, Vice President J.D. Vance said the post was a “joke.”
“I think the president posted a joke, and of course he deleted it because he recognized that a lot of people didn’t get his humor on that issue,” Vance said in an April 13 interview on Fox News’ “Special Report on Bret Bayer.”
The vice president also said that he thinks President Trump “likes to exchange ideas on social media.”
“I actually think one of the good things about this president is that he’s unfiltered. He doesn’t send everything through communications experts. He actually reaches out directly to the people,” he added.
Trump’s controversial post and Vance’s subsequent comments came amid a public spat with Pope Leo XIV over his criticism of the Iran war. President Trump has criticized the Pope on social media, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible” when it comes to foreign policy.
Vance says Vatican should ‘focus on moral issues’
In addition to discussing President Trump’s latest controversial Truth Social post, Vance also appeared on “Special Report” and addressed the conflict between the Pope and his administration.
“When it comes to disagreements with the Vatican, Brett, we will have disagreements from time to time,” Vance said. “In fact, I think it’s good that the Pope is defending something that he cares about.”
Vance, a Catholic, said his disagreements with the Vatican were “perfectly reasonable,” but dismissed the issue as “not particularly newsworthy.”
“We can respect the pope. We certainly have a good relationship with the Vatican, but sometimes we disagree on substantive issues,” he said.
Vance added, “I certainly think in some cases it’s best for the Vatican to stick to the moral issues, stick to the questions of what’s going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States concentrate on determining public policy for the United States.”
Did Trump post that he was a yes? Yes, then he removed it and explained.
In an April 12 post to Truth Social, Trump shared an AI-generated illustration of himself appearing to be Jesus Christ.
The image showed President Trump wearing a white tunic and a red shawl. He holds a glowing light in one hand and his other hand rests on the forehead of a man lying on the bed. Around them, several people looked up at Mr. Trump, including a woman who clasped her hands in prayer.
The post immediately sparked backlash from across the political spectrum, including some conservative figures.
President Trump deleted the image the next day and dismissed the criticism in a meeting with reporters at the White House on April 13.
“I posted it and I thought it was me as a doctor,” he said, adding, “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor who makes people better, and I actually make people better. I make people better.”
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contributor: Zach Anderson and Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. X Keep up with her at @melinakh and on Instagram @bymelinakhan.
