Pope Leo fielded a flurry of questions as he made his way through the crowd at the Vatican during his first international press conference.

He highlighted the vital role of free expression and an independent press, expressing gratitude to journalists for their coverage of the papal election. The pontiff also stressed that a well-informed society is essential for making sound choices and decisions on international policy, according to NewsNation.

At one point, NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman asked the Pope Leo whether he had “any message” to give the US to which the pontiff replied, “Many.”

He then added: “God bless you all.”

The short answer, which many people saw as a menacing message from the Pope to the US, caused quite a stir and vent viral in the blink of an eye.

Plenty of people interpreted it as a dig at the US president whom Pope Leo criticized on the social media as Cardinal Robert Prevost.

In 2015, as Trump made announcement that he was running for president and promised to “build a wall,” the pontiff retweeted an op-ed titled “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.”

Pope Leo also criticized Vance for an interview he gave about Christianity on Fox News.

“JD Vance is wrong,” he said. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Discussing concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of immigration, Vance referenced a Christian tenet “that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.”

After receiving criticism on his views, Vance took to the social media to defend himself, writing, “Just google ‘ordo amoris.’ Aside from that, the idea that there isn’t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense.”

10 days later, Pope Leo, when Cardinal Robert Prevost, shared another piece from a Jesuit publication, titled, “Pope Francis’ letter, JD Vance’s ‘ordo amoris’ and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration.”

As per the Daily Mail, referring to Pope Leo’s message to the US, some questioned whether he may have misheard the reporter over “any blessings for the United States,” saying it “makes more sense” given that he told the nation “God bless you all.”