Vice President JD Vance traveled to Athens, Georgia on Wednesday for a Turning Point USA campus forum intended to showcase conservative youth energy, but found a mostly empty arena and pointed questions from attendees who said President Donald Trump’s ongoing war with Iran, a social media meme depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, and his public clashes with Pope Leo XIV had cost him their support.
Attendees at the University of Georgia venue were outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by empty seats, the Associated Press reported — a stark contrast to the overflow rallies the organization helped organize during Trump’s 2024 campaign. Vance arrived in Georgia fresh from a trip to Pakistan that failed to produce a deal to end the war with Iran.
The Athens event illustrated Trump’s difficulty sustaining support for the Iran war among his own conservative base, compounded by the now-deleted Jesus meme and escalating conflict with Leo — controversies that drew criticism from Catholic, evangelical, and Protestant attendees alike.
Supporters voice doubts
“I did vote for Trump. I am not a Trump supporter anymore,” said Joseph Bercher, a Catholic attendee, who cited his support for Leo’s opposition to the war with Iran. Bercher called the Jesus meme a “red flag” about the president’s true character. “He sees himself as like a demagogue or someone to be worshipped,” Bercher said.
C.J. Santini, a recent graduate of Liberty University, an evangelical institution in Virginia, said he had no firm view on whether Iran had been close to producing a nuclear weapon. But he was direct about Trump’s dispute with Leo. “It’s just stupid. Stupid,” Santini said, calling the conflict a “distraction” from the administration’s agenda in Iran and at home.
Jessie Williams, a Methodist whose mother is Catholic, said he believed the pope should stay out of politics, but called Trump’s meme “distasteful.” Blake McCluggage, a Baptist, said he did not approve of the meme or Trump’s Easter Sunday social media messages, which threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s civilian infrastructure and warned that “a whole civilization” would die.
The meme and the pope
Trump posted the meme depicting himself as Jesus before removing it Monday, the AP reported, following rare pushback from conservatives. The episode intersected with a broader public dispute between Trump and Leo — the first U.S.-born pope — that escalated after the Easter Sunday messages. Leo called Trump’s comments “truly unacceptable.”
Trump had also called Leo “weak” and suggested the pontiff had been chosen specifically as a counter to Trump.
Vance adjusts his position
A day before the Athens event, Vance sought to dismiss the meme on Fox News as a joke “a lot of people weren’t understanding.” He also told Fox News: “It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”
On stage in Athens, however, Vance adopted a different framing, saying he welcomes Leo’s comments even while disagreeing with them. “At the very least, it invites conversation,” said Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult.
Vance also pushed back directly on Leo’s Palm Sunday statement — which Leo drew from the Old Testament book of Isaiah — that God does not hear the prayers of those who make war. Vance asked whether God was on the side of Allied forces in World War II as they liberated Jewish survivors of Nazi extermination camps. “I certainly think the answer is yes,” Vance said, adding that when the pope “mixes global affairs and complex theology,” it is “very important for the pope to be careful.”
Vance acknowledged the skepticism in the room, telling the audience he understood not all young conservatives agreed with him. “What I’m saying,” he said, “is don’t get disengaged.”
Event security, organizer absence
The event proceeded without Erika Kirk, who has led Turning Point USA following the assassination of her husband Charlie Kirk. Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point executive, moderated in her place and said Kirk had canceled because of unspecified threats she had received. Vance said he had worried the event would be canceled altogether, noting the significant Secret Service and law enforcement presence around the venue.
Kolvet asked Vance directly about the war and Trump’s dispute with Leo. Audience questions were more pointed: Vance sparred with at least one heckler over the war in Gaza and was pressed by another attendee over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.