Rubio Meloni meeting: U.S.-Italy ties test after Trump slams Pope Francis

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday to reaffirm the alliance as President Donald Trump’s public attacks on Pope Francis rattled the Catholic-majority country.

Meloni opened the talks by stressing “the indispensable nature of the Atlantic bond,” her office said, a remark that came only hours after Trump posted on Truth Social that the pontiff “should stay out of politics” and “focus on saving souls, not borders.”

Italy is Washington’s third-largest European trading partner and hosts more than 12,000 U.S. troops, but the papal feud has dominated headlines here for three days. Francis called the administration’s plan for mass deportations of migrants “a wound to humanity” during his weekly audience, drawing the ire of the president and complicating Rubio’s first bilateral stop on a four-nation tour aimed at patching strained trans-Atlantic relations.

Rubio told pool reporters the two governments “see eye to eye on China’s industrial overcapacity, Libya’s stabilization and keeping NATO’s southern flank secure.” He announced a joint task force on artificial-intelligence standards and said Washington will fast-track licenses for Italian satellite components previously restricted on export-control grounds.

None of that drew applause as loud as Meloni’s closing line. “The Vatican is our neighbor,” she said. “Respect for its moral voice is respect for Italy.”

Trump’s posts have included a doctored photo showing the pope wearing a MAGA hat, captioned “Best pope ever?” Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said privately the images were “unhelpful,” according to two diplomats briefed on the conversation, while Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, normally a Trump ally, told RTL radio that “mocking the Holy Father is no joke.”

The friction caps weeks of unease in Rome. Last month the administration slapped 30 % tariffs on imported olive oil and prosecco, prompting producers to park tanker trucks outside the U.S. embassy in protest. Then came leaks that the White House is re-examining F-35 contracts with Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, risking 7,000 jobs in northern Italy.

Rubio tried to play down both issues. “Tariff policy is under review,” he said, promising “adjustments that recognize specialty foods.” On the fighter program he offered only that “no final decisions have been taken.”

Meloni’s cabinet left the 45-minute meeting convinced the pope storm had not permanently damaged relations, one adviser said, but planners cancelled a planned joint press conference, replacing it with separate statements to avoid awkward questions.

Public sentiment has soured. A SWG poll released Friday showed 62 % of Italians now view the United States “less favorably” than a year ago, up 18 points since December. The same survey found 54 % believe Meloni should “distance herself” from Trump over the papal insults.

Background

Italy and the United States have been treaty allies since 1949, but ties have seesawed with each U.S. administration. Barack Obama praised Italy’s handling of Libyan migration, while Trump’s first term saw clashes over trade deficits and accusations that Rome was “freeloading” on defense. Joe Biden rebooted cooperation on climate and Ukraine, but Trump’s return to the White House in January re-opened questions about Washington’s commitment to collective security.

Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy, cultivated close links to Republicans during Trump’s first term, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022. Yet her coalition depends on the hard-right League, whose base in the industrial north is vulnerable to U.S. tariffs, and on the centrist Forza Italia, whose voters cherish the Vatican connection. Balancing Atlantic loyalty with domestic religious sensibilities is now her central foreign-policy dilemma.

What’s Next

Rubio flies to Tirana on Saturday for a Balkans security summit, but administration officials say he will hold a video call with Meloni and Leonardo executives next week to resolve the F-35 dispute before Italy’s 2027 budget is drafted in July. Meanwhile, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has accepted an invitation to Washington for talks on migration and humanitarian corridors, a trip that could either calm tempers or invite fresh presidential broadsides.

Whether the alliance steadies will depend on concrete tariff relief and, more intangibly, on whether Trump decides the political upside of bashing the pope outweighs the cost of alienating America’s oldest Mediterranean partner.