Top Senate Republican Hits Back Hard At JD Vance’s Criticism of the Pope

Vice President JD Vance speaks at the inaugural Make America Healthy Again summit at the Waldorf Astoria, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) hit back at Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday when asked about Vance’s recent comment that Pope Leo XIV “be careful” when discussing theology.

Vance, a convert to Catholicism, made the eyebrow-raising comment during a Tuesday Turning Point USA event in Georgia.

“I think it’s very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said while discussing the Pope’s recent criticisms of the war in Iran, which has led to several scathing attacks from President Donald Trump.

“I like that the pope is an advocate for peace. I think that’s certainly one of his roles,” Vance added in his Tuesday criticism. “On the other hand, how do you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?”

Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio reported on Thune’s response to Vance on Wednesday.

“Isn’t that his job?” Thune said, adding, “I’d stay focused on… the economic issues, pocketbook issues that most Americans care about. And let the church be the church.”

Thune had previously hit back at Trump’s attacks on the Pope, saying, “I would leave the church alone.”

Trump kicked off his attacks on the Pope on Sunday by accusing the Catholic leader of being “weak on crime.”

“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,” the president said. “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!