Evangelical puts Trump official through the wringer over insult to Christians

President Donald Trump greatly offended many Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, when he posted an image depicting himself as Jesus Christ back in April. Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, defended Trump during a late August interview with evangelical podcaster Bryce Crawford. But the host didn't back down from calling out the image as highly offensive.

Crawford told Vance, "I'm a Christian, I saw the photo — it made me upset. I'm not going to lie, it made me upset."

Vance, in response, didn't defend the image but was careful to avoid direct criticism of the president.

"I hear you, and I know the president didn't mean any offense," the "Hillbilly Elegy" author told Crawford. "Obviously, he loves Christians, and politically, has done a lot of good for religious liberty, and certainly didn't mean anything by it. I'm biased because I see this from the inside. So, it's like, 'Did Donald Trump mean to post a meme of himself as God?' No."

Trump posted the image depicting him as Jesus Christ as part of a blistering online rant again Pope Leo the 14th, who hasn't been shy about criticizing the U.S. president on immigration and other issues. And when the image sparked a vehement outcry, Trump removed it and claimed, "I thought it was me as a doctor."

But Crawford didn't believe Trump's explanation, telling Vance, "I don't know how he thought he was a doctor in the photo. He was (wearing) a white robe with a red sash on it, you know — and that makes me upset as a Christian."

Crawford said, however, that he "did appreciate" Trump removing the offensive image.

Vance continued to defend the president, insisting that he never meant to offend Christians. The vice president argued that because Trump is too busy to spend a lot of time surfing social media, "people will bring him stuff" — and that image, Vance maintained, was an example.

Crawford told Vance, "Sometimes, he'll like chuckle at it — and sometimes, if he really thinks it's funny, he'll have somebody post it. And that's exactly what happened here. He did not mean to like, mock or mimic God. That's just not who he is."

Vance himself was a vehement critic of Trump during the United States' 2016 presidential election. But he later went full MAGA and became a major ally of Trump, aggressively championing his policies during his years in the U.S. Senate.