Vice President JD Vance has been repeatedly heckled while speaking at a Turning Point USA event.
Vance, 41, addressed the conservative religious student movement during a tour of Georgia on Tuesday.
While on stage, Vance was interrupted several times while discussing Pope Leo, whom President Donald Trump declared he was “not a fan” of this week after the pair’s clashed on the war in Iran.
The vice president began to explain how he disagreed with the pope’s stance on Trump’s war on Iran. Vance, who converted to Catholicism six years ago and will release a memoir called Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith in June, recalled Pope Leo saying, “God is never on the side of those who wield the sword.”
The exact quote, which Leo shared on X on April 10, was “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
While saying he liked that the Pope is “an advocate for peace,” Vance asked, “How can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps... I certainly think the answer is yes.”
As Vance was speaking, someone in the audience shouted out, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide.”
The VP was quick to address “whoever yelled that out from the dark,” saying, “Yes, I agree, Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide... I think that’s a pretty easy principle.”
The heckler then appeared to yell, “Why are you committing genocide in Gaza?”
Vance continued, “First of all, random dude who’s shouting, can I finish my point and then I’ll respond to what you just shouted. Is that OK? Great.”
Vance finished his thought on the pope, noting that “we can of course” have disagreements on “whether this or that conflict is just.”
He added, “In the same way that it’s important for the Vice President of United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
As the heckler continued shouting, Vance addressed the situation. “When we came in, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe. You know who’s the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump.”
As the audience applauded, Vance continued, “So if you want, sir, to complain about what happened in Gaza, why don’t you complain about Joe Biden in the last administration? We’re the administration that solved that problem.”
As Vance continued, the heckler seemed to shout, “You’re killing children, you’re bombing children.”
Vance did not directly address those claims, but continued, “Right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than it has any time in the past five years.”
He said he was “proud” the Trump administration had attempted to solve problems, “not just complain about them like the guy who just ran away angry.”
It’s unclear what happened to the heckler; however. Getty photographed a man leaving the venue, next to what appears to be a security detail.
An MS NOW reporter shared vision from inside the venue when Vance was talking, showing hundreds of empty seats, claiming it was only at a quarter-capacity.
The Daily Beast has contacted Turning Point USA and reps for Vance for comment.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Akins Ford Arena, near the University of Georgia, to protest the vice president’s appearance, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Some chanted, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”
CBS spoke to students protesting outside the Turning Point event against Vance’s “extreme positions.”
“Our organization is fired up to be out here protesting J.D. Vance. Democratic voters will be engaged,” Holden Haenel, the executive director of Young Democrats of UGA, said.
He added, “Gas prices are through the roof, and our young service members are dying overseas.”
