Vice President JD Vance praised Pope Leo XIV’s recent statement downplaying the tensions between the Vatican and President Donald Trump after a week of back-and-forth sparring.

Leo said on Saturday that it is “not my interest at all” to debate Trump over issues like the Iran war, where the two hold sharply differing views. He stressed that an inaccurate media “narrative” has instead fueled the tension, citing his speech in Africa on Thursday where he warned the “world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.” While those remarks came just after Trump’s rebukes, Leo clarified the speech was actually written two weeks ago, long before Trump’s criticism of him.