No, there hasn’t been a catastrophe in Rome. And certainly the Vatican, under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV, has been a model of peace and diplomacy. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading for Rome this week, officially to “advance bilateral relations” with both the Italian government and the Holy See, which in Washington-speak roughly translates to “cleaning up another one of Donald Trump’s messes.”

According to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, “Meetings with Italian counterparts will focus on shared security interests and strategic alignment.” [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, May 4, 2026.]

And an anonymous former senior State Department official diplomatically said that:

“Secretary Rubio’s trip is an important step in diplomacy,” and that the trip is an indication of how much the Trump administration “values the relationship with Italy and the Holy See.” [Id.]

But here’s the thing: Would this trip be necessary if Trump hadn’t excoriated both Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Pope — not to mention other European leaders — for having had the courage of their convictions with regard to his invasion of Iran?

About the Pope’s anti-war stance, Trump wrote this demented screed on his Truth Social platform:

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. . . . I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do . . . Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. . . . Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Not only did Trump apparently forget how much he “valued those relationships”; he also seemed to overlook the fact that the Pope does not work for “President DONALD J. TRUMP,” but answers to a much higher Power.

Then, when Prime Minister Meloni had the audacity to voice her objection to Trump’s comments about the Pope, calling them “unacceptable” and refusing to back the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, he had this to say about her:

“I thought she had courage. I was wrong,” later adding that their bond had frayed because “She’s been negative. Anybody that turned us down to helping [sic] with this Iran situation, we do not have the same relationship.” [Colleen Barry, Associated Press, April 15, 2026.”

And in connection with his proposed withdrawal of troops from Germany and other European countries, when asked if he would consider pulling troops out of Italy and Spain — two countries also critical of the Iran war — he said:

“Probably . . . Look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.” [Al Jazeera, May 1, 2026.]

So now he is sending Marco Rubio overseas once again to do the dirty work of cleaning up the mess he made because he is incapable of thinking before he speaks, and because whatever thoughts he does have — on any subject — revolve solely around himself, and not around the job he is supposed to be doing as the titular leader of the free world.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/5/26