Jimmy Kimmel has little faith in Secretary of State Marco Rubio over his upcoming meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
Rubio will meet with the American-born pope later this week during his visit to Italy. The trip comes days after Trump reignited his attacks on the Catholic leader in an interview with Hugh Hewitt on the Salem News Channel.
“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good,” Trump said to Hewitt. He accused the pope of “endangering a lot of Catholics.”
Kimmel mockingly sympathized with “poor Marco Rubio” for having to meet with the pope amid Trump’s repeated remarks against the 70 year old.
“Marco Rubio plans to sit down with Pope Leo to discuss the attacks from our president, the war on Iran, and on a personal level: why God didn’t answer his prayers for smaller ears,” Kimmel joked in his Wednesday monologue.
Kimmel quoted a U.S. ambassador’s claim on Tuesday that Rubio will have a “frank conversation about U.S. policy” with the pope. Kimmel expressed his doubts:
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he quipped. “This is a guy who wore a pair of giant shoes because they were a gift from Trump, and he was afraid to insult him by not wearing them, but also too embarrassed to admit he wears a size 7 and exchange them.”
Kimmel referenced a March report claiming that Rubio and several other male officials in the Trump administration were being pressured by Trump to wear oversized Florsheim shoes.
Kimmel showed viewers a close-up of Rubio’s ill-fitted shoes and said incredulously, “This is the guy who’s going to confront the pope."
Kimmel also joked that Trump wanted Rubio to “get the pope down to five commandments.”
In response to Trump’s claim that he wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon, the pope offered a sharp rebuke on Tuesday.
“The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that,” Leo told reporters.
In a statement that seemed directed towards the president, Leo said, “The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If anyone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully.”
Pope Leo angered Trump in early April when he publicly called for an end to his war in Iran. The next day, 60 Minutes aired an episode featuring three American cardinals critical of Trump, which sent the president on a lengthy social media tirade.
“Leo should be thankful,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, arguing that the pope was only elected “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
