Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied that his upcoming trip to the Vatican is an attempt to smooth over tensions with Donald Trump’s administration after the president lashed out at Pope Leo XIV and depicted himself as a Christ-like figure in a widely condemned social media post.
But Rubio appeared to echo the president’s baseless allegations that Pope Leo supports Iran building a nuclear arsenal as the U.S. war with Iran stretches into a ninth week under a tenuous ceasefire.
