US Vice President JD Vance speaks during an event marking 250 years of the American military at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on July 1, 2026. KEN CEDENO/Pool via REUTERS
Vice President JD Vance faced online backlash after criticizing Pope Leo's stance on immigration during a Fox News appearance.
"I don't see Pope Leo as an anti-capitalist. I do think some of the things that have come out of the Vatican on the immigration issue, in particular, have been troubling," Vance said.
"What I would hope the Catholic leadership has learned from some of the things that me and Marco [Rubio] and the President have said about immigration is, it's not just about the dignity of the immigrant, it's about the dignity of the native born."
Pope Leo emerged as a vocal advocate for immigrants and directly challenged the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdowns. Since, Vance has criticized the Pope's immigration comments.
This time, online critics responded swiftly.
Political commentator Juan Escalante wrote, "You have to have some deep, unregistered pretentiousness to try to dunk on the pope."
Journalist Thor Benson wrote, "Come on, Pope Leo," jokingly begging, "Excommunicate him. Do it for me."
"I hope the scholars at the large hadron collider have learned from my many assorted thoughts on particles," Political scientist Anjali Dayal wrote.
Progressive commentator Wajahat Ali questioned, "More Catholic than the Pope, eh?"
Watch the video below.