Donald Trump revealed he wanted Marco Rubio to deliver the president’s unhinged attacks on Pope Leo XIV in person during the pair’s crunch talks at the Vatican.
While speaking to reporters during an inspection of renovations to the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, the 79-year-old president was asked whether he had a message for Rubio to pass on to the pope as the secretary of state sought to ease tensions caused by Trump.
“I just said, tell the pope very nicely, very respectfully, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
“Also tell the pope that Iran killed 42,000 innocent protesters who didn’t have guns, who didn’t have weapons. Tell that to the pope.”
Rubio met with Leo on Thursday in the first meeting between the pope and a Trump Cabinet official in nearly a year. It came during a period of unprecedented tensions between the president and the Vatican.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the pontiff for speaking out against the war in Iran since the conflict broke out on February 28, including falsely suggesting the pope believes it is a good thing for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
In one Truth Social meltdown, Trump declared the pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” The feud took an unexpected turn when the president shared an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ on social media.
During Thursday’s diplomatic talks, there was also an awkward moment when Rubio presented Pope Leo—a Chicago native and White Sox fan—with a tiny crystal American football while admitting the pontiff is more of a “baseball guy.”
In return, Pope Leo gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood, noting that the olive branch is a symbol of peace.
In a statement, the Vatican said the two men had “exchanged views” on global issues, including the Middle East conflict and the “need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.”
Trump reignited his attacks on the pope earlier this week during an interview with Hugh Hewitt on the Salem News Channel, suggesting the pontiff was “endangering a lot of Catholics” by opposing the Iran war.
“But I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump added.
Pope Leo has continued to defend himself and speak out against the Iran war despite the barrage of attacks from the president.
“If anyone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth: the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that,” the pope said Wednesday. “I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of God’s word.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Vatican for comment.
