Rubio Says His Trip to Vatican Was Planned Before Trump Dustup
Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on May 5.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/BloombergSecretary of State Marco Rubio said his upcoming trip to Rome and the Vatican was planned before President Donald Trump got into a spat with Pope Leo XIV, characterizing the visit as part of regular engagement with the Holy See.
Rubio is set to meet Italian and Vatican leaders during a May 6-8 visit. The decision to travel there, made public on Monday, had prompted speculation that Rubio, who is Catholic, was going on a clean-up mission to repair relations strained by Trump’s back and forth with the pope and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.