Pence drops the diplomatic act saying Trump should’ve stayed in his lane after AI Jesus stunt and pope meltdown
Sound advice.
Mike Pence just made it clear he thinks Donald Trump should’ve kept his hands off the pope’s job. The former vice president told MS NOW in an interview clip posted on April 23, 2026, that if he were still advising Trump, he’d tell him to “let the pope be the pope and you be the president.” When asked if he’d actually shared this advice with Trump directly, he admitted the two don’t talk as often as they used to.
But he added, “I get the distinct impression he still listens to us and watches what we do.” That’s a polite way of saying he’s not exactly in the loop anymore, but he’s still trying to steer the ship from the sidelines. It’s a shift from the days when Pence was the loyal number two, now stepping into the role of the guy who’s willing to say what others won’t, even if it’s just to a reporter.
According to The Hill, it all started earlier this month when Trump posted an AI-generated image that made him look like Jesus or some kind of savior. The backlash was immediate, even from his own base.
Some called it blasphemous, others just cringed
Conservative activist Riley Gaines didn’t hold back on X, writing, “Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he’d post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?” She followed up with, “Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Even Speaker Mike Johnson got involved, telling reporters he was the one who called Trump to suggest taking it down. “I talked to the president about it as soon as I saw it and told him that I don’t think it was being received in the same way he intended it,” Johnson said. Trump agreed and pulled the post, later claiming he thought it was supposed to show him as a doctor.
But Trump didn’t learn his lesson. A day later, he doubled down by reposting another AI image – this time of himself being embraced by Jesus, with an American flag in the background. The caption read, “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!”
The original post came from an X account that added, “I was never a very religious man…but doesn’t it seem, with all these satanic, demonic, child sacrificing monsters being exposed…that God might be playing his Trump card!” It’s the kind of over-the-top rhetoric that makes you wonder if the algorithm is writing the script at this point.
At the crux of all this was Trump’s feud with the Pope
Pope Leo XIV had criticized the U.S.-Iran war and called for peace, which Trump apparently took as a personal attack. He fired back, calling the pontiff “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.” He added, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician,” Trump stated. “It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”
The post was so aggressive that even the Knights of Columbus felt the need to step in. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly defended the pope, saying his words “are not political talking points – they are reflections of the Gospel itself.” Kelly added that the pope’s voice “deserves to be heard with respect and engaged seriously.”
Pence’s criticism of Trump goes beyond the feud with the pope and the AI Jesus posts. His advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, recently pushed back against the White House’s reported plan to bail out Spirit Airlines.
“American families shouldn’t be forced to bail out Spirit and the shareholders or pay the bill to see if the federal government can run an airline,” the group wrote in a memo. It’s another sign that Pence is carving out his own lane, one that’s increasingly critical of the administration he once served.
Things can spiral real quick when technology, religion and politics collide
AI-generated images are one thing. They’re easy to dismiss as a gimmick or a misfire. But when you start dragging the pope into the mix, you’re playing with fire. The Catholic Church isn’t just another institution to throw shade at, especially when your base includes a lot of devout Christians who might not appreciate seeing their faith turned into a meme.
Trump’s defenders will argue that he’s just pushing back against what he sees as hypocrisy or overreach. But there’s a difference between calling out bad policy and turning religious figures into political punching bags. The pope’s job is to preach peace, not to weigh in on every military conflict. And while Trump might see himself as a defender of faith, posting AI images that put him in Jesus’ shoes, or arms, doesn’t exactly scream humility.
(Featured image: Gage Skidmore)
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