Former Vice President Mike Pence has delivered his most pointed public critique of the sitting president, describing Donald Trump’s recent use of religious imagery as “offensive” and calling on him to abandon his escalating public quarrel with Pope Leo XIV. In an interview at the Washington offices of his political organisation Advancing American Freedom, Pence said he found the visual parallels drawn between Trump and Christ — including a digitally altered image depicting the president in a messianic light — deeply inappropriate. He urged Trump to adopt a more deferential posture: “Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president.” The remarks mark the first time Pence, a devout evangelical who has long styled himself as “a Christian, conservative and a Republican, in that order,” has weighed in on the row that erupted after the pontiff criticised Trump’s incendiary rhetoric concerning the war in Iran.

Viewed from Washington, the intervention carries significant weight, not least because Pence served four years as Trump’s loyal deputy and has largely refrained from direct confrontation since leaving office. Analysts in London note that the timing is delicate: Trump’s feud with the Vatican has deepened as his administration pushes ahead with trade tariffs that Pence warned are “straining the economy” and alienating key allies. The Pope, for his part, has shown no sign of retreat, reiterating his commitment to opposing the conflict and highlighting the suffering of innocent civilians.

While Vice President JD Vance suggested the pontiff should temper his criticism, Pence took a markedly different line, arguing that Pope Leo has every right to express his gospel-consistent views. The broader implication is that Trump’s fusion of political grievance and religious symbolism is alienating even his most steadfast conservative supporters. As the war in Iran grinds on and economic pressures mount, the former vice president’s warning — that the president risks conflating his temporal authority with divine mandate — may resonate well beyond the evangelical base that has so far stood by him.