(Bloomberg) María Paula Mijares Torres: Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome later this week, according to people familiar with the matter, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Donald Trump clashed over the Iran war and her defense of Pope Leo XIV.
Rubio’s staff sent details of his visit to Italian counterparts last week, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss advance planning. Rubio plans to meet with Vatican officials, as well as Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, they added. A meeting with Meloni is also possible, they added.
Meloni and Trump clashed publicly last month after she said Trump’s attacks on the Pope were “unacceptable.” Trump, in turn, said he was “shocked” by Meloni’s stance on the Iran war in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, saying she lacked courage.
Trump also said last week that was open to reducing the US troops presence in Italy, a threat that may seem more real after the Pentagon said Friday that it plans to draw down about 5,000 US troops in Germany, another NATO ally Trump has been feuding with.
“Look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us,” Trump said Thursday when asked about possibly pulling troops from Italy and Spain.
This all marks a major departure from last year, when Trump repeatedly lauded Meloni for taking “Europe by storm.”
Even if relations between Washington and Rome appeared to formally deteriorate over the war, collaboration between the US and Italy remains strong. Rome last week extradited a Chinese national wanted on hacking charges to the US, Bloomberg reported.
The State Department didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera reported earlier on Rubio’s planned trip.
