Vance On Trump’s Jesus Picture: ‘The President Was Posting A Joke’

Posted on 14/04/2026 by Boris Clair

Vice president JD Vance tried to spin President Donald Trump’s now-deleted Truth Social post depicting himself as Jesus Christ in an AI-generated image.

Asked by Fox News’ Bret Baier on Monday about Trump’s recent clashes with Pope Leo XIV and the AI image, Vance defended the Jesus post and attempted to explain why the president eventually took it down.

“Well, first of all, Bret, I think the president was posting a joke,” Vance, who is Catholic, said. “And of course, he took it down because he recognised that a lot of people weren’t understanding his humour in that case.”

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BAIER: I wonder as a catholic how you consider this picture which a lot of people took as the president posting a picture of himself as Jesus?

VANCE: 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… pic.twitter.com/gdcaVw6Ahy

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026

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BAIER: I wonder as a catholic how you consider this picture which a lot of people took as the president posting a picture of himself as Jesus?

VANCE: 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… pic.twitter.com/gdcaVw6Ahy

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026

Vance then tried to paint Trump’s unorthodox use of social media as a positive attribute.

“I think the president of the United States likes to mix it up on social media, 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 said.

Despite taking the post down, Trump tried to spin the image’s message.

“I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor,” he told reporters at the White House. “Only the fake news could come up with that one.”

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

‘This Man Is Not Well’: Critics Damn Trump After ‘Unhinged’ Late-Night Attack On Pope

Posted on 13/04/2026 by Boris Clair

Critics have condemned President Donald Trump after he attacked Pope Leo XIV in a Sunday night rant.

In a lengthy Truth Social post that ran more than 300 words, Trump slammed the pope for being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Trump griped:

“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.”

Trump also took credit for the Chicago-born pope’s election, claiming the College of Cardinals selected the first-ever American pontiff last year because “they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

President Donald Trump railed against Pope Leo while speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night.

He repeated his grievances a little later when he spoke to reporters as he returned to Washington from Miami on Sunday night.

“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said. “He likes crime, I guess.”

He also called the pontiff “a very liberal person” and “a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”

“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he added.

Trump’s attack came after the pope repeatedly called for peace amid the ongoing war with Iran.

He did so again on Saturday.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said during an evening prayer service, according to The Associated Press. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

The pope did not mention Trump by name as he described the “delusion of omnipotence” as a threat to global stability, but the comments apparently triggered the president.

Trump’s critics fired back on X:

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I doubt Pope Leo XIV will lose any sleep over this, before he begins his pilgrimage to Africa tomorrow. But the rest of us should. Because it is unhinged, uncharitable and unchristian. Is there no bottom to this moral squalor? pic.twitter.com/XRr9lpv4ZF

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) April 13, 2026

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I doubt Pope Leo XIV will lose any sleep over this, before he begins his pilgrimage to Africa tomorrow. But the rest of us should. Because it is unhinged, uncharitable and unchristian. Is there no bottom to this moral squalor? pic.twitter.com/XRr9lpv4ZF

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) April 13, 2026

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Hey @GOP, you good with your guy directly attacking the Pope now?

We know the leadership of the Republican Party is on their knees (not praying!) but if anyone over there still has a spine, this is an easy one! https://t.co/lSsZHk6tvQ

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 13, 2026

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We know the leadership of the Republican Party is on their knees (not praying!) but if anyone over there still has a spine, this is an easy one! https://t.co/lSsZHk6tvQ— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 13, 2026\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Governor Newsom Press Office on Twitter / 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Hey @GOP, you good with your guy directly attacking the Pope now?

We know the leadership of the Republican Party is on their knees (not praying!) but if anyone over there still has a spine, this is an easy one! https://t.co/lSsZHk6tvQ

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 13, 2026

Pope Leo XIV wasted no time making his position clear on global conflict, using his first Sunday blessing as pontiff to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps and call for an end to all wars currently ravaging the world.

“The immense tragedy of the Second World War ended 80 years ago, after so many millions of victims. And now we’re facing the tragedy of a Third World War in pieces, as Pope Francis often said,” the new pope told the massive crowd from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

“I too would like to address the powerful people of the world by repeating the ever-present call ‘never again war.’”

Last week’s conclave swiftly resulted in the unprecedented election of the first North American pope ― a 69-year-old missionary who hails from Chicago and spent much of his life in Peru. His first appearance as pontiff came Thursday, where he delivered a message of peace and unity. On Sunday, he called out specific conflicts and war that have divided much of the world.

A crowd attends the first Sunday blessing by Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, on May 11. Leo (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) was elected to the papacy on May 8 following the death of Pope Francis on April 21. — A crowd attends the first Sunday blessing by Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, on May 11. Leo (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) was elected to the papacy on May 8 following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

“I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” Leo said, referring to Russia’s yearslong war against its neighbour. “May whatever is possible be done to reach an authentic, true and lasting peace as quickly as possible. May all the prisoners be freed. May children return to their families.”

The pope also said that he is “deeply hurt” by the humanitarian crisis facing Gaza due to Israel’s invasion. Leo called for a ceasefire to “immediately come into effect,” for desperately needed aid to reach Palestinian families and for all hostages to be freed.

Leo added that he was “happy to hear” of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, expressing his hope that the two nuclear powers can negotiate a “lasting accord.” Just hours after the ceasefire, however, both countries allegedly restarted their bombing campaigns.

Before Leo, Pope Francis gained a reputation for his progressive reforms and for speaking on behalf of marginalised peoples who bear the consequences of global conflict and war launched by major powers. Both the public and a polarized Catholic Church had been waiting to see if the new pope would follow his predecessor’s lead.

Pope Leo XIV speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he delivered his first Sunday blessing to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, on May 11. — Pope Leo XIV speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he delivered his first Sunday blessing to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, on May 11.

“My hope would be that he has, now, a new platform to reintroduce what the church has always called for in terms of its social justice agenda, and it will give people another opportunity to take a second look at what Francis was saying – but now in the words and the voice of an American who speaks like an American. I think that’s going to be very powerful going forward,” Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

Pope Francis frequently butted heads with the United States, specifically the Trump administration in regards to immigrants. Cupich said that Leo will continue his predecessor’s work in standing up for the vulnerable ― including in his home country, the US.

“I think he’s going to help complete and complement our political agenda. He’ll talk a lot about the immigrants as well because he knows about the sufferings of people and the real needs that they have for a better life,” Cupich said.

“And he knows too that people in Oceania, for instance, where the rising sea levels are just overwhelming those islands, where people are trying to escape; he sees the drug trade that’s happening in Central and South America, where there are weapons from the United States going there,” he continued. “He knows that those people need an option. And he’ll for, I think, as the bishops have in the United States, fixing this broken immigration system.”

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Tag Archives: pope leo xiv

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