JD Vance 'work of God' comments

Vice President JD Vance said in a podcast interview released this week that he is trying to do “as much of God’s work as possible right now” and added, “if that leads to the end times, ok.” The remarks circulated widely on Wednesday, September 2, after social media users including the X account Lyne_evy criticized them as alarming in the context of U.S. governance. (yahoo.com) The comments came in an episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast published on September 1 under the title “JD Vance Felt ‘Darkness’ From These World Leaders (EP 221).” The exchange appears to have come during a discussion of Christian eschatology, or beliefs about the end times. (open.spotify.com) In the portion of the interview surfaced by multiple outlets, host Bryce Crawford asked Vance whether he thought the end times were here or coming, and Vance replied that he would not be shocked if “the Antichrist was walking among us,” before saying he tries to focus on his duties as a husband, father and U.S. leader. ### What exactly did Vance say? Yahoo’s reproduction of the interview text says Vance answered Crawford this way: “what I’m trying to focus on is doing as much of God’s work as possible right now. (yahoo.com) And if that leads to the end times, ok.” In the same answer, he added that if it instead leads to “us building a better world that thrives and survives for a very long time after I’m gone, that’s great too.” The same account says Vance began by saying he has “always been fascinated” by eschatology and that too much focus on it is “probably bad for me spiritually.” He then listed more immediate obligations, saying, “I gotta be good to my wife. (yahoo.com) I gotta be good to my kids. I have to be as good of a leader as I can for the United States of America.” ### Where did the clip come from? The source of the clip is the Bryce Crawford Podcast, a Christianity-focused show hosted by Bryce Crawford. Apple Podcasts describes the program as “Bryce Crawford’s Christian podcast where he talks about Christ and major topics concerning Christianity and the world,” and Spotify lists the Vance interview as episode 221. (yahoo.com) YouTube search results also show a short clip labeled “Bryce asks JD Vance if we’re in the end times,” indicating the exchange was separately excerpted for social platforms. That helps explain why the comments spread beyond the full hour-plus interview. (yahoo.com) ### Why did the comments start circulating on Wednesday? An X post by Lyne_evy on September 2 highlighted the “work of God” line and framed it as troubling when voiced by a sitting vice president. The post did not include a transcript link, but it matched wording reproduced by other outlets covering the podcast exchange. Media coverage accelerated the same day. (podcasts.apple.com) Mediaite, via Yahoo, and other outlets published write-ups focusing on Vance’s “God’s work” and “end times” remarks, while Christian and conservative outlets emphasized the broader faith discussion in the interview. (youtube.com) ### Was this part of a broader religious discussion? Christian Post reported that Vance also said he had sensed spiritual “darkness” from some world leaders and discussed the July 2024 attempt on Donald Trump’s life during the same interview. Newsmax separately reported Vance saying that if Trump had been killed, he might have wondered whether it was part of a conspiracy. (x.com) Vance’s public discussion of religion is not new. OSV News reported in June that Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, wrote in his memoir “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” about his religious and political conversions. (yahoo.com) ### Where can readers look next? The full interview remains listed as episode 221 of the Bryce Crawford Podcast on Spotify, and Bryce Crawford’s YouTube channels continue to host clips from the conversation. Additional reaction is likely to center on the exact wording from that September 1 episode and on any public response from Vance or the White House. (open.spotify.com) (catholicreview.org) (christianpost.com)