Vance says he won’t play ‘politicization of the pope game’ over whether Leo XIV is conservative or liberal

Vice President JD Vance refused to talk politics about the newly elected pope on Friday, calling his election a "great thing."

"So many people my entire lifetime have said you’re never going to have an American pope," Vance told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt after being asked for his reaction to his election. "Obviously, now we do, so I think that’s a great thing." 

Vance added that "We don’t know a whole lot about him, but I just wish him the best, right? I’m a Catholic. He’s now the head of the Catholic Church, and we’ll pray for his wisdom, for his good decisions, and his good health, and hope that he has a long and successful papacy."

The vice president told Hewitt that something like the election of a new pope can often become "discolor...