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The president has said he will not apologize to Leo, and Vice President JD Vance, the highest-ranking Catholic elected official in the U.S., waded into the debate Tuesday, warning Leo to “be careful” when discussing theology.
The first American pope has previously said he does not wish to engage in a debate with Trump. He, along with a multitude of other Catholic leaders, has repeatedly condemned the war in Iran and urged leaders to find a peaceful resolution.
The first pope from the Order of St. Augustine, Leo has also highlighted the St. Augustine teachings of a “just war,” a religious framework that examines the justification of how and why a war is fought. In his Easter address, Leo said Jesus does not hear the prayers of those with blood on their hands — something Johnson said he was “taken a little bit aback” by.
“There’s a time to every purpose under heaven,” Johnson said. “I think what the president’s comments, what the vice president’s comments, reflect is their understanding, deep in the [Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility] and the classified briefings, of the stakes that are so high in the situation that we’re facing.”
Johnson’s defense of Trump comes just a day after the speaker said he asked the president to delete an AI-generated image Trump posted of himself as a Christ-like figure. Trump did delete the image, though he told reporters that he thought he was being depicted as a doctor.
“I don’t want to engage in a theological debate with the pope,” said Johnson. “I certainly respect the pope. I would just say that these are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate and think through, and I think that’s what that reflects.”
Johnson wasn’t the only Republican to throw their support behind Trump’s criticism of the pope.
Texas Rep. Troy Nehls told Leo to “stay out of politics” on Wednesday.
“The pope needs to keep his business to leading his flock, leading the church, and stay out of the political arena,” Nehls told reporters. “Go lead your church. Stay out of politics. We didn’t elect the pope to be the president. Donald Trump is our president.”
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