US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, April 24, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
(New York, NY) – Marco Rubio is a busy man. The US Secretary of State has earned the nickname “secretary of everything” for also serving as acting archivist, and USAID administrator — not to mention his role as national security advisor. Himself a former presidential candidate and US Senator from Florida, Rubio has become the focus of memes online that poke fun at his many job titles. One going viral right now depicts Rubio learning he had been tasked with running the failing Spirit Airlines, using the magic of AI.
But in the real world, Rubio is heading to Italy this week, to try and mend some broken fences. With his boss President Donald Trump in a spat with Pope Leo, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, it’s a natural time and place for Rubio to travel. A practicing Catholic, Rubio is expected to meet with a top cardinal — as reported by Reuters — citing local newspapers. Rubio will also meet with Italian defense ministers at a time when NATO and the US are not seeing eye-to-eye on many things. Italy is a founding member of NATO.
Amid the war in Iran, US and European relations have come under strain. Dating back to WW2, the US has maintained a steady military presence in Germany. Friday, the Pentagon announced 5,000 troops were being withdrawn from bases in Germany, with the war in Iran, tariffs, and other issues driving a wedge between the allies.
Italian PM Meloni — a longtime political ally of President Trump — has not been enthusiastic in her support of the Iran-US war. President Trump has in turn accused her of lacking “courage” and indicated he was “shocked” at her stance. Discussing the withdraw of troops from Germany, Trump said he “probably should” also consider a drawdown of troops from Italy. “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible,” Trump said Friday from the Oval Office. “I didn’t need the help, but I said, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have your help,’ because I want to see if they’d do it. And they, in all cases, they said, ‘We don’t want to get involved.’ And you know the amazing thing is they use the Strait of Hormuz, and we don’t. We don’t use it. We don’t need it. We have a lot of oil.”
Trump has also praised Rubio’s diplomatic skills in the past — specifically mentioning them during his State of the Union Address. As of Sunday night, Rubio’s schedule had reportedly not been finalized. But the White House undoubtedly hopes his trip can help heal relations in Italy where the Pope, PM, and NATO officials await.
