Mike Pence says Trump should back off the Pope and shreds president’s ‘offensive’ Jesus pictures

Former Vice President Mike Pence urged President Donald Trump to call off his religious fight with the Pope — later shredding the president for sharing “offensive” images online that depict himself as Jesus.Earlier this month, Trump sparked an online feud against Pope Leo XIV after the American-born leader of the Catholic Church spoke out against the war with Iran. Trump blasted the pontiff as “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy during a late-night rampage on Truth Social that saw him upload an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus. “I think the president was right to take that one image down and his ongoing argument with Pope Leo, I think, has abated to a degree, and I welcome that,” Pence told MS NOW in an interview published Thursday. “I think the Pope has every right to express himself in a manner that he believes is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the president has every right to express his view and his agenda for the American people,” he said. “If I was advising him — as I did every day for four and a half years — I’d say: Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president.”The interview spanned a wide range of topics, including the economy, tariffs, the war in Ukraine, and the fact that Pence has never spoken with Trump’s current VP, JD Vance. Former Vice President Mike Pence urged President Donald Trump to end his feud with Pope Leo XIV (MS NOW)The interview also marked the first time that Pence, who has referred to himself as “a Christian, conservative and a Republican, in that order,” commented on Trump’s feud with the leader of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo has found himself in Trump’s crosshairs ever since criticizing the president’s violent rhetoric toward Iran, calling his threats to wipe a “whole civilization” off the map “truly unacceptable.” The pontiff’s rebuke prompted Trump to go off the rails on Truth Social, sharing an image depicting himself as Jesus on April 12. In the image, Trump can be seen in a white robe and red sash with a glowing outstretched hand placed on the forehead of a man in a hospital bed. He is surrounded by patriotic symbols, including a U.S. flag and an eagle flying above fireworks and fighter jets. The picture sparked a backlash even among some Trump supporters. The president later said he thought the picture depicted him as ‘a doctor’ (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)The image, which appeared to be AI-generated, came immediately after Trump labeled the pontiff as “WEAK.” The post, which was taken down the next day, drew a wave of backlash from right-wing Christians, who accused Trump of blasphemy, and even put off some of Trump’s MAGA allies. In response to the outrage, Trump claimed that he posted the image because he thought it depicted himself as a doctor. “I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”He blamed “fake news” for comparing the image to Jesus, but also refused to apologize to the pope.The interview marked the first time Pence, who served as Trump’s Vice President during his first term, shared his thoughts on Trump’s religious row with the pope (AFP/Getty)The pope, for his part, has vowed to continue to “speak out loudly against the war.” “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said last week.“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” he continued. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”Pope Leo’s persistence only angered Trump, who fired off in an April 14 Truth Social rant, “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter. AMERICA IS BACK!!!” Last week, Vice President JD Vance, who became a Catholic in 2019, entered the conversation, and said that the Pope should be “careful when he talks about matters of theology.“