JD Vance opens up about faith, fathering, VP duties on podcast

For Vice President JD Vance, his Catholic faith shapes every aspect of his life, from his leadership in government to his conversations with hi’is children, he said in an interview with Miranda Devine on her show Pod Force One.

And having grown up without a present father motivates him even more.

“I also think this is one of the things that both is motivating about but also attracted me to my faith,” Vance said in the episode, published on Wednesday. “There are very strong, developed over literally hundreds of years, Christian principles about how to be a dad, how to be a husband, and I try to follow that as much as possible.”

Vance also detailed his recent trip to the Holy Land, where he celebrated Mass at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre – the traditional Catholic site of Christ’s crucifixion.

“It was probably the single most amazing experience in my life,” Vance said, describing the “Christian unity” on display in the “co-ownership” of the church by the Greek, Armenian and Catholic traditions. 

Vance described crawling into a side chapel where he could place his hand upon the ground, traditionally believed to be the place where the cross stood during Christ’s crucifixion.  

“I start crying. I was completely overcome with emotion,” he said, detailing the “complete silence” and lack of cameras that so often follow him. “I just had this moment of feeling completely alone. And the emotion of the place came over me, and it was just incredible.” 

Devine mentioned how Vance has now met two popes, discussing his meeting with Pope Francis just a day before his death. She asked Vance his perspective on the relationship of faith and politics in reference to former President Joe Biden’s stark pro-abortion policies, despite himself being Catholic. 

“Biden was the most extreme possible on the abortion issue. I mean, it was taxpayer funded abortion up to the moment of birth, absolutely no limits,” Vance said. “That’s so fundamentally inconsistent with Catholic teaching, and I will say, to their great credit, a lot of the American bishops did push back very firmly against the radical pro-abortion policy of the Biden administration during that time.” 

Vance then discussed how his faith affects his approach to the immigration policy of the Trump administration. 

“We have to have the ability to control the borders of our own country. That’s very clearly written in Catholic teaching, is that nations are allowed sovereignty. They’re allowed to control their own borders,” Vance explained. “However, it’s always useful to remind ourselves that a lot of the people who have come into our country, they’re struggling in some way. They’re human beings. And even though we have to engage in immigration enforcement, I try to remind myself – consistent with church teaching – that yes doesn’t mean we can let these people stay in our country, but I do have a responsibility to try to remember their humanity.” 

He said he wished more Christians balanced this view of charity as well as the necessity of political safety and protection. 

“I also think that there was this distorted humanitarian thing going on where any enforcement, any law enforcement period, these people have convinced themselves is somehow ‘unChristian’ or immoral,” Vance said. “I think that’s the wrong attitude to take, because when you don’t enforce the law against the people who violate the law, you empower the sex traffickers, empower the murderers, and you empower the drug dealers, and you bankrupt the country.” 

Vance said President Donald Trump’s closed border policy balances the “duty owed to the American people” and the “humanitarian perspective.” He said his role as vice president is to both counsel the president and perform any task asked of him. 

“I think it’s really important for the president to be able to rely on my advice and for me to support his agenda once he’s made a decision,” Vance said. “That’s kind of my attitude is I have two real responsibilities here.” 

And in striving to give wise counsel and direct support, Vance said he always trusts the president in the end. 

“On the one hand, I’ve got to give the president honest counsel. He expects it from me; I owe it to him,” he said. “But when the president makes a decision, he’s in charge of the government and my attitude as I salute and say, ‘Aye aye, sir,’ and I go and execute. Both of those things really matter.” 

On foreign policy, Vance explained he is not an isolationist but is skeptical of “troops on the ground” deployment. He said Trump balances deterrence and Ameriycan independence well.  

“He’s both skeptical of foreign entanglements, but he’s not afraid to use American military power when he has to,” Vance said. “And again, I’m biased. I’m the vice president of the United States. But I think that’s exactly where we should be.” 

Even though Vance opposed Trump’s initial presidential run in 2016, he said he was the first senator to endorse Trump in 2022 during the primary race because of Trump’s “courage and grit.” He said Trump has “unbelievable instincts,” extremely “high energy” and always considers the country’s best interests. 

Vance also detailed how patient Trump is with Vance’s own children, who can be rambunctious in the White House. 

“He has a very good heart. I think it has a natural, grandfatherly way, especially with kids,” Vance said of Trump. “He really loves kids, and they really loved him in return.” 

As he raises his children with more than he ever had growing up, Vance says he looks for ways to help them understand the suffering that many others experience around the world. 

“’There but for the grace of God,’ would be your life,” Vance teaches his kids. “There are a lot of kids in this country, a lot of kids in the world in particular, who struggle with having enough to eat. That’s one of the reasons why we care about what we do, is we want to make sure that everybody has access to good shelter and nutritious food and a loving family.” 

Asked about Trump’s vision of a future presidential ticket with Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on it, Vance said, “There’s a lot more work to do” in the Trump administration, saying such a thought feels “premature.”  

“What I wake up and think to myself is, ‘How do I do a good job as vice president?’ and I think Marco Rubio asks himself, ‘How do I do a good job as secretary of state?’” Vance said, calling Rubio his closest friend in the administration. “That should be the question that each of us keeps on asking ourselves.”