Trump reveals what he advised Rubio to convey to the Pope — and it’s the factor he retains saying on TV

Donald Trump has repeatedly falsely accused Pope Leo XIV of supporting nuclear weapons in Iran — and he wanted Marco Rubio to deliver the message to the pontiff in person.

The secretary of state met with the American-born Catholic leader Thursday after weeks of attacks from the president and simmering tensions between the U.S. and the Vatican over the war in Iran.

Rubio denied that the trip was an attempt to smooth over tensions with the Trump administration following the president’s depiction of himself as a Christ-like figure in a widely condemned social media post and routine attacks against the pope for his pleas for peace.

While speaking to reporters at the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, the president was asked whether he had a message for Rubio to pass along to the pope. It was a familiar one.

“I just said , ‘Tell the Pope, very nicely, very respectfully, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said. “So when he comes to their defense — also, ‘tell the Pope that Iran killed 42,000 innocent protesters who didn’t have guns. Tell that to the Pope.’”

Rubio’s meeting with the Pope — the first between the pontiff and a Cabinet official in more than a year — got off to an awkward start.

While standing in the pontiff’s private library overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica, the pair engaged in the time-honored diplomatic tradition of swapping gifts.

Leo presented Rubio with an olive branch encased in wood and emblazoned with the pontificate’s coat of arms, describing it as “the plant of peace.” Rubio presented the Pope with a palm-sized crystal football.

“Wow, OK,” said Leo.

“What to get someone who has everything, I thought,” Rubio said while clutching the keepsake.

But before his departure, Rubio appeared to echo the president’s baseless allegations that Leo supports Iran building a nuclear arsenal.

Asked whether he agrees with the president’s recent claim that the Pope’s urgent pleas for peace are “endangering” Catholics, Rubio told reporters at the White House that the statement is “not an accurate description of what he said.”

“I think what the president basically said is Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon because they would use it in places where there’s a lot of Catholics and Christians and others, for that matter,” Rubio said Tuesday.

“He doesn’t understand why anybody — leave aside the Pope — the president, and I, for that matter, I think most people, I cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

In his latest jab at the Catholic leader, Trump told the host of The Hugh Hewitt Show that the Pope “would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess, if it’s up to the Pope,” Trump said. “He thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”​

The Pope, however, has specifically spoken against nuclear proliferation and stressed his disinterest in political debate as he encourages an end to global warfare from a Catholic perspective.

Last year, he called for a world free from nuclear threats and appealed for peace between Iran and Israel.

In a March 5 video message, Leo said the church is “asking that nations renounce weapons and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations, so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death, halt the arms race, and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center,” he said. “May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.”

Three days later, Leo’s X account encouraged people to pray “for the roar of bombs to cease, weapons to fall silent, and space to open for dialogue, in which people’s voices may be heard.”

Trump’s recent attacks follow the Pope’s condemnation of the president’s threat to destroy Iran’s entire population with a Truth Social post on April 7 warning “a whole civilization will die.”

Leo said such comments are “truly unacceptable.”

On April 12, Trump told reporters “we don’t like a pope that’s gonna say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”

Days before Rubio’s arrival, the Pope appeared to address Trump’s latest false claims about his views on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully,” the pontiff told reporters Tuesday.

“The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there,” he said. “And so I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s words.”

Source: independent.co.uk