Trump's week in review: Tensions with Iran continue; Rubio visits Pope Leo
4. Rubio meets with Pope Leo amid Trump feud
Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican as part of an overseas trip on Thursday. He shared images of their meeting on social media, identifying the main focus of their conversation as “our shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.”
Rubio addressed the meeting at a White House press briefing Tuesday, acknowledging that his trip to the Vatican was taking place at a time when Trump and Leo had openly disagreed about the Iran conflict.
He rejected the idea that the trip was an attempt to mend fences between the Vatican and the White House, noting, “It’s a trip we had planned from before.”
Responding to a question about Trump’s belief that the pontiff “is endangering a lot of Catholics as a result of his rhetoric around the Iran war,” Rubio pushed back on the characterization of the president’s remarks.
“I don’t think that’s an accurate description of what he said,” Rubio said. “I think what the president basically said is that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that have a lot of Catholics and Christians and others, for that matter.”
Trump made the comments in question during an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Monday, describing the pontiff’s position as believing “it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and suggesting, “I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics, a lot of people.” The president has repeatedly taken issue with Leo’s opposition to the Iran war, most notably in a Truth Social post last month denouncing the pontiff as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
