JD Vance, a Catholic convert who occasionally has sparred with church leaders over their criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, said in an interview on Fox News Channel on Monday night that the president’s social media post with the Jesus-like image was “a joke.”
“Of course, he took it down because he realized a lot of people weren’t understanding his humor,” Vance said.
He repeatedly dismissed the focus on the president’s fight with the pope, saying it “isn’t particularly newsworthy” and there will be disagreements from time to time with the Vatican.
But Vance also suggested the pope should stay in his lane.
When Americans got upset that John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, at least Lennon owned his words. He never called it a joke or belittled his critics. He calmly stated his reasons and eventually apologized for upsetting people.
I’m not saying this to hold up John Lennon as some epitome of goodness (he’s had his share of skeletons in the closet.) Rather, that even a snarky lad who built his public persona on taking the piss at any given opportunity didn’t fall back on the “it’s just a joke, bro” defense.