"JD Vance kill pope" and "JD Vance killed Pope Francis" were breakout Google search trends following the pope's death.

At the same time, another narrative started populating social media feeds: that Vice President JD Vance was to blame for the pope's death. The wave of irreverent posts relating to Pope Francis ...

Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass in St. Peter's Square, ...

In May 2025, a video spread on social media that appeared to show Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, criticizing U.S. Vice ...

Vice President JD Vance spoke with Ross Douthat on his "Interesting Times" podcast after meeting with the new pope.

Blevins likened the intent behind the "JD Vance killed Pope Francis" meme with the case of people falsely claiming Vance wrote about having sex with a couch in his 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy." ...

"In this sense, memes about JD Vance killing the pope are symbolic of the personal dislike several people within a culture have for Vance," Blevins said. Pope Francis meets with U.S. Vice ...