Rubio meets with Italian Prime Minister Meloni in Rome amid US-Italian political tensions
Vatican talks: Jonathan Morris on Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV
Fox News Contributor Jonathan Morris discusses Secretary Rubio’s high-profile meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, addressing conflicts around the world. Morris contrasts President Donald Trump’s tough stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions with the pope’s consistent call for peace and nuclear disarmament. The term of the meeting covers one year since the election of Pope Leo.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni on Thursday in Rome amid a standoff between Italy and the Vatican.
The meeting comes one day after Rubio, a staunch Catholic, held talks at the Vatican with Pope Leo and top church officials in what many observers saw as efforts to ease relations after weeks of escalating tensions between President Donald Trump and the Holy See.
For much of Trump’s second term, Meloni was widely viewed as Trump’s closest ally among Europe’s top leaders. But that relationship has begun to fray amid tensions over the Iran war.
That political relationship, however, has come under pressure in recent months, as Trump’s escalating conflict with Pope Leo XIV collides with separate disagreements over Italy’s limits on using its territory for activities related to the US-allied war on Iran.
Rubio will travel to Italy on Wednesday where he will have meetings with Pope Leo and Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni. (Photos by Maria Grazia Picciarella/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Asked on April 30 if he would consider withdrawing troops from Italy and Spain, Trump said, “Yes, maybe. … Why shouldn’t I?”
“Italy has not been helpful to us,” the president said.
The Italian prime minister has forged a strong relationship with Trump through their shared positions on immigration, citizenship, border security and opposition to progressive cultural politics. Meloni is the only European leader to attend Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, and he also visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago as he sought to position himself as an important liaison between Washington and Europe.
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The relationship is often seen as warm in public.
At the 2025 Middle East summit in Egypt, Trump publicly praised Meloni as “a beautiful young woman” and joked, “You don’t mind being called beautiful, do you?” before describing him as an “amazing leader” respected throughout Italy.
Trump and Meloni also found common ground in politics.
Both leaders have adopted strict policies of border tightening, criticizing “awakened” ideas in Western institutions and opposing strong national identities in their countries. Meloni’s conservative Brothers of Italy group was often described by Trump allies as an example of the kind of populist movement that is rebuilding Europe.
The split came to light after Meloni publicly criticized Trump’s attacks on the pope as “unacceptable,” prompting Trump to fire back and reportedly tell aides that he’s “more different than I thought.”
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Italian media and European analysts described the conflict as a significant breakdown between two leaders who were once considered natural political allies.
Rubio, who is Catholic, held a private meeting with the pope marking the Trump administration’s first interaction with the pope in over a year. (Photo by Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The Vatican dispute is particularly sensitive for Meloni politically because Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, is still very influential in Italy, where criticism of the pope by foreign leaders can quickly become politically toxic. Trump’s comments about Leo’s opposition to the war against Iran caused a major backlash among Italian Catholics and in certain areas of the Italian political establishment.
The Iran conflict is also straining relations. Italian officials are reported to have expressed growing uneasiness about the possibility of an increase in US troops and concerns surrounding US military access to Italy. Rome has also faced pressure at home to distance itself from Washington’s handling of the conflict.
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Economic turmoil continues to fester in the background. While Trump earlier this year reduced tariffs on some Italian exports, including pasta products, as what he described as a “New Year’s gift” to Italy, concerns remain in Rome and Brussels due to the administration’s repeated threats to impose broad tariffs on European goods.
On the contrary, Rubio’s visit is widely interpreted as an attempt to stabilize the relationship before the political rift goes any further. The secretary of state is expected to discuss security in the Middle East, NATO coordination, migration and trade during his talks with Meloni and other Italian officials as the administration works to maintain Italy’s role as one of Washington’s closest allies in southern Europe.
The White House and the Italian embassy in the US were not immediately available for comment.
