White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sidestepped a question on the White House's reaction to the new pope's past commentary of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Before Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, he shared criticisms of Trump and Vance on social media, particularly when it comes to immigration policy. "Yesterday we saw the news of the new pope. Before Pope Leo became Pope Leo, there were some critical comments that he made about President Trump and about Vice President Vance on his "X" account, then X- account. Does the White House have any reaction to those comments?" "The President made his reaction to Pope Leo's announcement yesterday very clear. He is very proud to have an American Pope. I think it was a surprise to everyone. I saw the news media was surprised to report on that yesterday. But it's a great thing for the United States of America and for the world, and we are praying for him."