Mike Johnson sides with Trump and Vance against Pope Leo: ‘You should expect some political response’

House Speaker Mike Johnson sided with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in their criticism of Pope Leo XIV. The speaker responded to a question from The Independent about the president’s comments that Pope Leo XIV is “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy. On Tuesday evening, the president continued his criticism of Leo, the first American pope.Leo, for his part, has criticized the Iran war and the president’s approach to it.“I’m not one to criticize clerics and religious leaders,” Johnson said Wednesday. “A pontiff or religious leader can say anything they want, but obviously if you wade into political waters, you should expect some political response and I think the pope has received some of that.” Trump received criticism from many, including Republicans, when he criticized the pope. The president received even further anger when he posted an AI image depicting himself as Jesus Christ healing a sick person, though Trump later deleted that and said the image depicted him as a doctor.Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded to President Donald Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV. (Getty)Johnson echoed the claims from the president that the war was justified in attacking Iran given that the regime had killed many of its own people. “There’s something called the ‘just war doctrine,’” Johnson said, invoking a concept by St. Augustine of when war can be morally justified. Leo is the first Augustinian pope and said last month that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Johnson said that the president and vice president’s actions took out a regime was a positive change.“That means that potentially millions of innocent people will be able to keep their lives and not be killed by terrorists,” Johnson said, to applause from Republicans. “I don’t want to engage in a theological debate with the pope. I certainly respect the pope. I would just say that these are matters that people of good faith and good sense can think through and debate.” Johnson is just the latest Republican who has had to navigate Trump’s rhetoric around the pope, the leader of a church that counts at least 53 million people in the United States as members. Trump has been feuding with Pope Leo and posted an image of himself as Jesus online, drawing widespread criticism (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)That includes Vance, a convert who has a forthcoming book about his conversion to the faith. On Tuesday, the vice president spoke at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, where he commented on the row between Trump and the leader of his church. “In the same way it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” he said. Like Johnson, Vance invoked the concept of “just war.” “How can you say that God was never on the side of those who wield the sword?” he said. “Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps?”-Brendan Rascius contributed reporting