President Donald Trump polled a crowd at the White House on Monday, asking if they would like to see Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio run for president in 2028. 
“I don&#8217;t know. Who&#8217;s it going to be? Is it going to be JD? Is there going to be somebody else? I don&#8217;t know,” Trump told a group of law enforcement officials at the White House on Monday. 
He then asked the crowd who they thought should succeed him. 
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio? All right. Sounds like a good ticket,&#8221; Trump asked. <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 220px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/W01007vdoCbyUEav00Xgdz3QVhf8P344jIT?metadata-video-content-type=short&amp;metadata-video-id=f0e04c22-eb9c-41dd-9a3f-664834cdeea3&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Trump%20holds%20a%20mini%202028%20election%20for%20his%20%E2%80%98dream%20team%E2%80%99%3A%20JD%20Vance%20or%20Marco%20Rubio%3F&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fshorts%2F94231d65-0a8f-4bbc-8daa-caa6bb8bf764.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Applause from those in attendance appeared to be louder for Vance, but Trump said he wasn’t making any endorsements yet. 
“By the way, I do believe that’s a dream team. But these are minor details. That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance. But you know … I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate,” Trump said. 
Rubio said last year that he would support Vance if the vice president decided to run for president. 
“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” he <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-2?_sp=66ff928d-0547-4be8-9f21-3d5c5d7322ce.1773164665694">told</a> Vanity Fair in an interview. 
That comment has not held off speculation that he may still make a presidential run, especially with his long list of responsibilities within the administration. 
Last year, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reveals-who-will-most-likely-be-the-2028-republican-nominee">said</a> he believed that Vance would be the “most likely” 2028 GOP nominee. 
“Well, I think most likely, in all fairness,” Trump said when asked last August if MAGA would line up behind Vance in 2028. “He’s the vice president. I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”
Trump, however, did not fully endorse Vance at the time. 
“I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here, so it’s too early obviously to talk about it,” he said. “But certainly, [Vance] is doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.”

Trump Says Israel And Lebanon To Extend Ceasefire By Three Weeks

Trump Takes A Spontaneous 2028 Presidential Straw Poll: Vance Or Rubio?

2028 presidential election

Donald Trump

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

U.S. Politics

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on reporters who wondered why there appeared to be less &#8220;cease&#8221; than &#8220;fire&#8221; in the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, saying that &#8220;only stupid countries&#8221; would allow an enemy to attack with impunity.
Rubio fielded questions from the press on Friday, saying that the United States was not engaging in any acts of aggression, but also was not going to let attacks from Iran go unanswered.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
SECRETARY RUBIO: Only stupid countries don’t shoot back when you’re shot at. And we’re not a stupid county.
The redline is clear – if Iranian boats threaten Americans, they’re going to get blown up.
🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/hTl1TRLmJL">pic.twitter.com/hTl1TRLmJL</a>
— Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/2052739106082361810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I guess the point is there&#8217;s not much ceasing in the firing,&#8221; one reporter began, but Rubio stopped him before he could go any further.
&#8220;Well, you should ask that of the Iranians, don&#8217;t ask me,&#8221; Rubio shot back. &#8220;They fired on us. My point is, if you fire on a U.S. Navy ship, what are we supposed to do? Say, &#8216;Oh, there&#8217;s a ceasefire, we&#8217;re not going to shoot down your drone.&#8217; That&#8217;s a stupid question.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s a stupid position to take,&#8221; he repeated. &#8220;Of course we fired back at them, they were shooting at us. That&#8217;s what I would expect to do. Only stupid countries don’t shoot back when you’re shot at. And we’re not a stupid county.&#8221;
The reporter followed that up by asking whether or not Rubio had communicated with the Iranians, making it clear where any &#8220;red lines&#8221; might be.
Rubio&#8217;s answer was unequivocal: &#8220;No, the red line is clear: if they threaten Americans, they&#8217;re going to get blown up. I mean, that&#8217;s the — that&#8217;s — how much clearer can you be than that? If you fire on — if you are a missile-launching guy, whatever you call that job, and you&#8217;re sitting there and you fire a missile at the United States and we saw you fire it, we&#8217;re going to hit you. Of course we are!&#8221;
&#8220;Who doesn&#8217;t do that?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Unless you want to get your ship sunk. We&#8217;re not going to let our ships get sunk by the Iranians with their little drones that they&#8217;re firing. You know, they don&#8217;t have a navy anymore, but they bring out these little Boston whaler fishing boats and they try to swarm you, we&#8217;re going to blow the boats up if they&#8217;re coming towards our boats.&#8221;
Rubio doubled down then, warning any Iranian who might receive an order to attack an American asset: &#8220;You&#8217;re probably not going to survive.&#8221;

US-VENEZUELA-CONFLICT-POLITICS-CONGRESS-RUBIO

Rubio: ‘We Aren’t A Stupid Country’

Global Politics

Iran war

Politics

Secretary of State Marco Rubio held face-to-face meetings with Pope Leo on Thursday as President Donald Trump remains critical of the pope&#8217;s position on the Iran war.
In Vatican City, Rubio, America&#8217;s top diplomat and a Roman Catholic, met with Pope Leo and Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to discuss issues such as the Middle East. A State Department official told The Daily Wire that &#8220;today&#8217;s conversations were friendly and constructive.&#8221;
&#8220;Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to discuss the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,&#8221; State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/05/secretary-rubios-meeting-with-pope-leo-xiv/">said</a>. &#8220;The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.&#8221;<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 220px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/RMTDsb9XI826a85Kic7O02MfT7Hx9DR6r?metadata-video-content-type=short&amp;metadata-video-id=5affd718-0d57-4cf0-b89e-ca7ee6e24961&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Rubio%20makes%20peace%20with%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20inside%20the%20Vatican&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fshorts%2F30318a23-322c-4ce8-9a57-6eb3e88036e3.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The Holy See “exceeded expectations” in their welcoming of Secretary Rubio to the Vatican, a source familiar with the protocol told The Daily Wire, demonstrating “strong U.S.-Holy See ties.”
The Holy See also arranged for Rubio’s motorcade to enter through the Arch of Bells, which is usually reserved for the head of state or head of government — a special mark of respect for Rubio. The Vatican also sent the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Peter Rajik, to greet Rubio as the secretary of State arrived in the San Damaso Courtyard. Rubio was greeted by the full Swiss Honorary Guard who welcomed his delegation, the source familiar shared.
During the meeting, Rubio also discussed the United States&#8217; work with the Catholic Church and Caritas in Cuba with the Holy See leadership, according to the State Department official.
The meeting follows recent clashes between President Trump and the pope, whose outspoken criticism of the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran has drawn sharp rebukes from the president.
Ahead of Rubio&#8217;s meeting, Trump sent a &#8220;simple&#8221; message to the leader of the Catholic Church.
&#8220;As far as the Pope is concerned, it&#8217;s very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don&#8217;t make him happy: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/CatholicVote/status/2052108392060133721?s=20">Trump said</a>. &#8220;And he seemed to be saying that they can, and I say, they cannot.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 President Trump shares a &#8220;simple&#8221; message for Pope Leo ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with the pontiff.
&#8220;As far as the Pope is concerned, it&#8217;s very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don&#8217;t make him happy: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/WfHKQZAMcJ">pic.twitter.com/WfHKQZAMcJ</a>
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatholicVote/status/2052108392060133721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKqngLaiqsE">interview</a> with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, the commander-in-chief said the pontiff&#8217;s position endangers Catholics.
“I think he&#8217;s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess if it&#8217;s up to the Pope, he thinks it&#8217;s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,&#8221; Trump asserted.
The American-born pope rejected that criticism, saying the mission of the church is to preach the Gospel of peace. 
“If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully,&#8221; Leo said, <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-castel-gandolfo-press-nuclear-weapons.html">according to a Catholic news outlet</a>. &#8220;For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.&#8221; 
Last month, Trump launched a broadside against the Pope, following a Sunday-night “<a href="https://x.com/60Minutes/status/2043471794074448140?s=20">60 Minutes</a>” episode featuring prominent American cardinals who offered several critiques of the Trump administration. 
Hours later, Trump slammed the Pope as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116394704213456431">Trump said on Truth Social</a>. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
In a <a href="https://x.com/Acyn/status/2043498719270637656?s=20">gaggle with reporters</a>, the president piled on.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.”
Pope Leo has not backed away from his criticism, though he has insisted he does not seek a political confrontation with the White House.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” Leo told <a href="https://x.com/catholicourtney/status/2043619307993665935?s=20">reporters aboard the papal plane</a>. “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria:
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what… <a href="https://t.co/zV6FuacGSM">pic.twitter.com/zV6FuacGSM</a>
— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) <a href="https://twitter.com/catholicourtney/status/2043619307993665935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
Thursday&#8217;s meeting between Rubio and Pope Leo suggests both sides may be looking to find common ground and shift towards private diplomacy over public attacks.
&#8220;We share with the Catholic Church a concern about the destruction of religious liberty, the persecution of Christian minorities, and also, you know, the challenges that are being faced by Christians in Africa,&#8221; Rubio said at a recent White House press briefing. &#8220;So the trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them.&#8221;

How Rubio Is Smoothing Things Over With The Pope

Catholic Church

Iran

Pope Leo

Vatican

WASHINGTON—Secretary of State Marco Rubio will head to Rome this week to smooth things over with the Vatican amidst tensions between the United States and Pope Leo over the Holy Father&#8217;s criticisms of Operation Epic Fury.
Rubio&#8217;s visit to Italy will take place from Wednesday, May 6, to Friday, May 8, and is formally intended to &#8220;advance bilateral relations with Italy and the Vatican,&#8221; the State Department said on Monday, noting that Rubio will &#8220;meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere.&#8221; The Holy See says Rubio will meet privately with Pope Leo, who is the first pope from the United States. He will also meet with Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
The meeting comes amid high tensions between the White House and Pope Leo, who has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration. The president has aggressively hit back at the pope, even suggesting that the Vatican chose him as a response to Trump&#8217;s presidency — and that &#8220;they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.&#8221;
&#8220;If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,&#8221; the president said in a fiery Truth Social post. Trump&#8217;s sentiment that Pope Leo was chosen to meet the second Trump administration, though generally considered to have been articulated too aggressively towards the head of the Catholic Church, is also widely held to be true.
The most recent bump in the road came in the form of Pope Leo&#8217;s appointment of a bishop to West Virginia: that bishop, <a href="http://t.co/mbCbdug0Fk">according to the Washington Post</a>, was illegally smuggled into the United States in the trunk of a car and has been vocal in his criticisms of the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration policies.
Things took a more hopeful turn of events when the pope downplayed reporter suggestions that he was warring with Trump, saying in late April that the &#8220;narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects&#8221; and that it was &#8220;not in my interest at all” to argue with Trump.
Vice President Vance took another step towards reconciliation with a social media post that praised the pope for his words: &#8220;I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict — and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen — the reality is often much more complicated.&#8221;
&#8220;Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day,&#8221; Vance added. &#8220;The President — and the entire administration — work to apply those moral principles in a messy world. He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we&#8217;ll be in his.&#8221;
<div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body type-text subtype-from-the-source" data-qa="article-body">
Last May, both Rubio and Vice President JD Vance attended the pope&#8217;s inauguration and spoke privately with him. Vance led the delegation to Rome during that trip, on which they also extended an invitation to Pope Leo from President Donald Trump inviting the pope to the White House. This time around, Vance is staying home and is heading out to Iowa on Tuesday to message for the Trump administration.
Both Vance and Rubio are practicing Catholics and considered top contenders for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination: Vance is currently leading that field by wide margins, though Rubio has notably gained in popularity and name recognition in recent months. Some critics of the vice president are now arguing, in light of the visit, that Vance is being &#8220;<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/vance-loses-out-to-rubio-in-major-diplomatic-snub/?utm_campaign=owned_social&amp;utm_medium=socialflow&amp;utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb&amp;via=twitter_page">sidelined</a>&#8221; from the conversations with Pope Leo.
</div>
Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, doesn&#8217;t see it that way. Rubio&#8217;s meeting with the pope is just one &#8220;productive&#8221; step in what will hopefully be the healing of the relationship between the Holy Father and the White House, he suggested.
&#8220;I think ultimately it needs to be 3 people, but it&#8217;s very good that the Secretary of State is going,&#8221; he shared in a phone interview with The Daily Wire. Roberts, also a Catholic, stressed that the most important part of the dynamic is that Pope Leo and President Donald Trump meet and spend time together, &#8220;especially considering they&#8217;re both great leaders and great Americans.&#8221;
&#8220;In the meantime, I think the greatest tag team, for the conservative movement internationally, is Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So, no doubt, Rubio will have a great productive congenial visit with the Holy Father, and no doubt, at some point, the vice president will visit the Holy Father again, and no doubt, at some point, the president and Holy Father will visit again.&#8221;
Tensions escalated in early April when the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-infamous-meeting-between-the-vatican-and-the-pentagon?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inside+The+Infamous+Meeting+Between+The+Vatican+And+The+Pentagon">Free Press published an &#8220;exposé&#8221; describing</a> a reportedly contentious January meeting between a Vatican diplomat and Pentagon officials. The report, citing unnamed sources, claimed that the Pentagon&#8217;s Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, then the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio, chastised him and insisted the United States “has the military power to do whatever it wants — and that the Church had better take its side.”
Notably, the story claimed that Colby invoked the Avignon Papacy, a period in the 14th century in which the Holy See moved from Rome to France, where a series of popes were largely bent to the will of the French monarchy. It also cast Colby as belonging to “a cadre of Catholic and ostensibly dovish officials” allied with Vice President JD Vance, who are “struggling to reconcile their isolationist instincts with the aggressive posture of a president who, within a single year, has bombed eight countries — with no sign of stopping.”
Allies of the vice president and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-fall-prey-to-claims-the-trump-administration-wants-to-bomb-the-vatican">some conservative commentators</a> took the story as a sign that Vance&#8217;s critics sought to ostracize Vance from Catholicism, just war, and Pope Leo himself. The Vatican, the Pentagon, and the American Ambassador to the Holy See all denied the Free Press report, saying it was cordial and respectful.
Michael Caputo, a longtime Catholic and advisor to President Donald Trump, reflected that both Vance and Rubio bring a different flavor of Catholicism to the table. Vance, a new convert, brings fresh perspective and evangelical zeal. Rubio was baptized Catholic as a baby, spent a few years in the LDS church in Las Vegas as a child, and returned to the Catholic Church by his early teens.
Caputo stumbled on Rubio&#8217;s memoir &#8220;American Son&#8221; during a particularly dark period when he was being targeted by the Biden DOJ, and he was incredibly impressed by Rubio&#8217;s reverence for the Catholic sacraments. That one specific chapter of &#8220;American Son&#8221; &#8220;drew me into my faith as Russia gate sucked my family in,&#8221; he shared.
&#8220;Marco and JD are two very different Catholics and Catholicism needs them both,&#8221; said Caputo. But he argued that it is &#8220;Marco Rubio’s deep and binding understanding of the sacraments and the role they played in connecting people to Christ&#8221; that &#8220;will make a difference as he comes to the Vatican.&#8221;
Rubio has cautioned respect for the Vatican, encouraging the public to see the office not as political but as spiritual.
&#8220;I understand there’s this temptation to cover the papacy as a political office,&#8221; Rubio <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-the-press-4">told reporters in May 2025</a> of the pope. &#8220;It is not a political office. It is a spiritual office, and it is one that – it has social teachings that are aligned with the faith and with the gospel.&#8221;
But he has also been unafraid to point out when the Vatican&#8217;s public posture on issues like immigration does not match its own actions.
&#8220;I don’t mean this to be snarky, but the Vatican has rules about who can come in and who can stay,&#8221; he noted that same day. &#8220;So every place has that. It’s just — it’s what you do to protect your sovereignty.&#8221;
Rubio was also formerly the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and has spent much of his career focused on that hemisphere — as has Pope Leo. Though the pope is from Chicago, he has been heavily focused on Latin America.
That means there is a &#8220;common language between the two men,&#8221; Caputo stressed, &#8220;a deep and abiding concern for the hemisphere,&#8221; a granular level of understanding of the region, and it makes Rubio the right guy for Pope Leo to be talking to.
The pope has repeatedly condemned the war with Iran, saying in late April aboard a flight back to Rome, &#8220;As a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war,&#8221; and &#8220;I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to look for answers that come from a culture of peace and not from a place of hate and division.&#8221;
His previous remarks on the war in Iran prompted President Donald Trump to publicly scold him and accuse him of being &#8220;WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.&#8221;
&#8220;I have no intention of getting into a debate,&#8221; Leo said in response in late April.
Catholics in the U.S. are also sensitive to the fact that the pope has said he has no plans to return to the United States to celebrate the country&#8217;s 250th anniversary.
&#8220;He has as much work to do as our friends who are public officials in the United States, in fact, I would strongly encourage him as a Roman Catholic and as an American, to visit the United States, his native country during America 250,&#8221; Roberts told The Daily Wire. &#8220;A lot of us conservative Catholics are slighted that the 1st American pope doesn&#8217;t have any plans to visit us this year.&#8221;

Rubio Pope

Rubio Heads To Rome To Make Peace With The Pope

The Vatican

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has added yet another title to his growing list of jobs: wedding deejay.
Rubio, who inspired thousands of memes as President Donald Trump persisted in heaping more and more responsibilities onto his plate, was caught on video — initially shared by Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino — as he took a turn behind the turntables at a family wedding.
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;">  <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 220px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/I6ioZK5tXA01oPIzSr29U35kk00qVh02J0001?metadata-video-content-type=short&amp;metadata-video-id=906ed112-d2ef-4c53-95d5-a8d2b6635473&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Marco%20Rubio%20adds%20DJ%20to%20his%20resume%20after%20taking%20over%20at%20a%20family%20wedding&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fshorts%2Fdfa58b14-611e-43fd-8e3f-ce96052ffce6.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
Rubio has held several official jobs within the Trump administration, where he was initially confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Secretary of State on January 20, 2025. By February 3, however, he had already been handed his second role: Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Later that same month, when Trump fired the archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Rubio slid into the role of Acting Archivist.
In the months since, Rubio has been nicknamed The Secretary of Everything — and thousands of memes have depicted him doing everything from Cuba&#8217;s new leader to a minesweeper in the Strait of Hormuz.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Marco Rubio preparing to run Cuba after the U.S takes control. <a href="https://t.co/YKYJy3Hp4s">pic.twitter.com/YKYJy3Hp4s</a>
— Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/PlanetOfMemes/status/2050385947175289314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubio on his way to the strait of Hormuz to locate Irans lost underwater mines 😂 <a href="https://t.co/p91fFGk0Wm">pic.twitter.com/p91fFGk0Wm</a>
— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRicanMemes/status/2042787254590927134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rubio has leaned into the memes, and even used them to play a few practical jokes of his own. The day after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt began her maternity leave, for example, Rubio popped into the press room to take a photo of himself posing as the &#8220;Acting Press Secretary.&#8221; Prompting laughter around the room, he asked the reporters who witnessed the gag to refrain from posting anything until he&#8217;d had the chance to share the joke with the person for whom it was meant.
&#8220;I&#8217;m just here to take a quick picture &#8230; you&#8217;re going to ruin my joke,&#8221; he complained. &#8220;You guys can&#8217;t put this out, is that okay? &#8230; Can you guys hold for at least an hour, please, or you&#8217;re going to ruin the joke &#8230; it&#8217;s not a joke on the public, it&#8217;s a joke on one person.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 LMFAO! Marco Rubio just walked into the press briefing room to pretend he’d been appointed White House Press Secretary, as Karoline Leavitt’s on maternity leave
Can’t help but love this guy 🤣
NOBODY would be surprised if it was true! 😂 <a href="https://t.co/bqwe8tacKI">pic.twitter.com/bqwe8tacKI</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2049575801482359227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Marco Rubio Adds Another Job Title To His Resume

Memes

Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon are set to meet today for a second round of face-to-face negotiations, as both sides weigh whether a fragile ceasefire can be extended and potentially transformed into a longer-term framework for peace.
The meeting comes as tensions remain high, with Israeli officials accusing Hezbollah of repeatedly violating the ceasefire. A recent Israeli strike targeting what it said was a threat to troops reportedly resulted in journalist casualties.
The talks, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will bring together senior U.S. and regional officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Counselor Michael Needham, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
Lebanon is reportedly seeking a one-month extension of the current ceasefire.
The current agreement was announced by President Donald Trump as a 10-day pause that took effect at 5 p.m. ET on April 16, following calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It allows Israel to take self-defense measures while requiring Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from “carrying out attacks, operations, or hostile activities against Israeli targets.”
While Lebanese authorities have long sought to disarm Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group remains one of the most powerful political and military forces in the country. At the same time, it has been significantly weakened since launching attacks on Israel in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, assault. Israel’s response—an extensive air campaign and ground invasion—killed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and degraded much of the group’s operational capacity.
Trump has emphasized that the arrangement is separate from broader U.S. efforts involving Iran.
“This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, either, but the USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner,” Trump said last week. “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!”
Despite the diplomatic push, tensions on the ground remain high. Israel has accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire multiple times and recently conducted a strike against terrorists in vehicles it says approached Israeli troops “in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety.” In response, the Israeli air force struck one of the vehicles, and a structure the individuals fled into.
The strike reportedly also resulted in the death of journalist Amal Khalil, who worked for the pro-Hezbollah outlet Al Akhbar, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. Another photojournalist was reportedly injured.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incident, writing on X that “targeting journalists and obstructing the access of rescue teams to them, and then the renewed targeting of those teams after they’d arrived, constitute described war crimes.” 

The Israeli military acknowledged that two journalists were injured in the strike, but denied deliberately targeting media personnel.
The first round of talks, held on April 14, was described by the State Department as “productive,” raising cautious optimism for continued diplomacy. U.S. officials have said a sustained agreement could unlock significant reconstruction assistance for Lebanon, help stabilize its economy, and expand regional investment opportunities.
Lebanese officials have stressed the importance of fully implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, alongside addressing the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has expressed a willingness “to engage in direct negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues and achieve a durable peace that will strengthen security, stability, and prosperity in the region.”
The negotiations mark the most significant high-level engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993 and are seen as a potential stepping stone toward formal diplomatic talks between the two countries.
On the ground, Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon as part of efforts to push Hezbollah away from the border. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has refused to disarm unless Israel fully withdraws, though it has largely adhered to the ceasefire while publicly opposing the negotiations.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-restores-damaged-christian-statue-in-lebanon-punishes-soldiers-responsible?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=After+Jesus+Statue+Is+Vandalized%2C+Israel+Takes+Swift+Action">Controversy erupted</a> in recent days after an Israeli soldier damaged a statue of Jesus in the southern Lebanese village of Debel, prompting swift condemnation and a formal response from the Israel Defense Forces.
In a statement on X, the IDF expressed “deep regret,” calling the act a “moral failure” that contradicts its core values. The soldier responsible, along with the individual who filmed the incident, has been removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days of military detention. Additional troops present have been called in for review, with the Chief of the General Staff stating the conduct “far exceeds any acceptable standard.”
The IDF replaced the statue in “full coordination” with the local Christian community.

Golan Heights .Israel .Border

What To Know As Israel And Lebanon Enter Another Round Of High-Stakes Negotiations

Hezbollah

Israel

Lebanon

World

You&#8217;ve been lied to.
You&#8217;ve been hearing for weeks now from all of the doubters, all of the so-called “panicans.” But here is what you are not going to hear anywhere else: not just that President Trump is winning in Iran, but why he is winning.
He came in with four goals. He has now achieved three of them, and the fourth is on the way.
Iran had three methods of resistance. President Trump has basically eliminated two of them. And the third is about to end.
People keep assuming that the goal of the war in Iran was regime change. No. Regime change is a means; it is not the actual end. In a certain sense, if the regime were to change its behavior dramatically, you wouldn&#8217;t need to change the regime.
Yes, if there were to be a regime change, it would pretty much achieve all the goals all at once. 
But you don&#8217;t have to achieve all of the goals of the war with regime change.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2408?elementPosition=2&amp;row=5&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
The president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2039408073039630728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2039408073039630728%7Ctwgr%5Eb81529da64e58116a12923b7165a9b8bf97313a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehouse.gov%2Freleases%2F2026%2F04%2Fpresident-trumps-clear-and-unchanging-objectives-drive-decisive-success-against-iranian-regime%2F">laid out the goals</a>:
<ol>
<li>Destroy the vast majority of Iran&#8217;s forward military capacity. Done. We have defenestrated their foreign military capacity, their missile base is basically gone. Their air force, gone. Their navy, gone.</li>
<li>Wipe out their defense industrial base. Done. The United States and Israel have wiped out their steel foundries. They have hit all of their missile factories. They have hit their missile launchers.</li>
<li>Keep Iran’s economy in a stranglehold, while depriving it of the means to rebuild. Done. The Iranian economy is defunct. Nothing has been getting in.</li>
<li>End the Iranian nuclear threat. Pending. </li>
</ol>
Three of those four have basically been done. It&#8217;s the Iranian nuclear threat that remains on the table.
Okay, say the panicans and the liars, but somehow Iran has gotten stronger.
This is what we might call the Obi-Wan Kenobi theory of foreign policy: “If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”
It doesn&#8217;t work that way in real life. When you strike someone down, they usually stay down. And if they recover, you can strike them down again. 
The spirit of Iran is not going to teach Luke Skywalker how to blow up the Death Star. That&#8217;s not how this works. It is not clear how you get stronger by being alienated from every single country in the region, from Jews to Muslims, or how, somehow, you&#8217;re getting stronger if all your leaders are dead and you&#8217;re walking around as a regime pretending that an impotent, comatose dude with no leg is your actual leader: “Weekend at Mullahs.”
Or how you get stronger when your missile launch capacity has been so degraded, so radically degraded, that you&#8217;re being forced to physically unbury the missile launchers you buried. 
They buried a bunch of missile launchers to hide them, and now they&#8217;re being forced to unbury them just so they have something to shoot.
We can see them doing that; if there&#8217;s another round here, we will just blow those up, too.
How do you get stronger if your navy is at the bottom of the sea or if your Air Force, which was a bunch of Vietnam-era crap, is now a bunch of shrapnel? How are you stronger when your economy is totally nonexistent, when in a few weeks you&#8217;re not going to have money to pay your IRGC thugs?
Okay, fine, say the panicans and the liars; The Iranians will still win. They will win by outlasting us.
Staying alive isn&#8217;t winning unless we&#8217;re doing “The Hunger Games,” which we&#8217;re not.
To take a similar example: Is Cuba winning right now?
The Cuban communist regime has survived. Are they winning or are they on their last legs? It’s pretty clear they are losing.
And so is the regime in Tehran. The regime in Tehran had three methods of resistance, and they’ve been building all three for years and years.
First, the so-called “Axis of Resistance.” This included all the terror proxies they placed throughout the region, from Hamas to Hezbollah to the Houthis to terror groups in Iraq. All of those members of the “Axis of Resistance” were supposed to be Iran’s forward army. That was their forward capacity.
But since October 7, 2023, Israel has steadily degraded or destroyed that forward capacity.
Hamas is stuck in a small section of Gaza. They may be trying to rebuild, but it won’t matter. Israel will go in and blow them up again. Hezbollah has been greatly reduced as a power in the region, and now it is in danger of complete evisceration. The Houthis could have acted at any time during this war, but they didn’t, and they didn’t for a reason. They knew that if they had, they would have been obliterated.
So the terror proxies Iran had been funding for generations were basically defenestrated. That was their first mode of striking back.
Second was the nuclear program, which they were attempting to develop. They were racing toward a nuclear bomb to protect their regime. That is what caused all of this to happen. If they had given up their nuclear program years ago, they would have had normalized relations with a lot of different countries. The sanctions would not be on them. But they decided they were going to race forward with their nuclear program, and they got the hell bombed out of them.
Third: the Strait of Hormuz. Shutting that down was supposed to be their trump card. That was supposed to stop everything.
And this is where all of the panicans and all of the liars and the people who hate Trump and hate Israel and all the rest started saying, “The Iranians really showed you. They shut the Strait of Hormuz!”
It’s open now.
Remember that time when they said that we would never be able to open the Strait?
What did we do? We said if you close it, we are going to stop all ships going in and out of Iranian ports, and then you won&#8217;t have an economy, and you’ll be dead in the water.
Guess what? Within a week and a half, they opened the strait.
They stopped messing around in the strait because they didn&#8217;t have the forward operating capacity. Their navy was, in fact, at the bottom of the sea. The Persian Gulf was littered with the hulks of their ships. The reality is that they used their pathetic mine-laying capacities — and I say pathetic because they were actually just putting mines in the water and losing them out there — and we are now de-mining the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump wrote, “I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I told them to stay away unless they just want to load up their ships with oil. They were useless when needed. A paper tiger.”
Fact.
What really happened here is that the Strait of Hormuz closing hurt the Chinese far more than it hurt us. The Chinese presumably brought pressure to bear via Pakistan on the Iranians, and the Iranians decided to open the Strait.
Not only that, oil prices have now plunged dramatically. We&#8217;ve been told that that was the chief element that was somehow going to undermine the war.
Nope.
President Trump is winning, big-time.
And don’t let the panicans and liars convince you otherwise.

President Trump Departs Washington Enroute To Miami, Florida

Trump Crushes Doubters On Iran 

Ben Shapiro

Middle East

Opinion

Strait of Hormuz

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has terminated the legal status of three Iranian nationals tied to Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokeswoman for the militants behind the Iran Hostage Crisis, placing them in ICE custody and initiating their removal from the United States.
“I terminated their lawful permanent resident status and today, Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending their removal from our country,” Rubio said.
Rubio added that the decision reflects a broader principle: “America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump administration, it never will.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
‼️ NEW DETAILS: 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has TERMINATED the legal status of three Iranians tied to regime figure known as “Screaming Mary.”
They are now in ICE custody and facing deportation.
“I terminated their lawful permanent resident status and today, Seyed Eissa… <a href="https://t.co/7XnEgjbyQ0">https://t.co/7XnEgjbyQ0</a> <a href="https://t.co/xU3udiFLJ8">pic.twitter.com/xU3udiFLJ8</a>
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) <a href="https://twitter.com/MOSSADil/status/2042982578995478677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
The individuals are directly connected to Masoumeh Ebtekar, known to many Americans as “Screaming Mary,” who served as the English-language spokeswoman for the militants who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
That crisis saw 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, a defining moment in U.S.-Iran relations that continues to shape policy decades later.
Chosen for her fluent English and familiarity with the United States, she became the public face of the hostage-takers, appearing repeatedly on American television to defend the operation and relay the group’s demands. She has never expressed regret for her role, and frequently used her appearances to justify the takeover.
After the crisis, she transitioned from revolutionary activist to establishment figure, eventually rising to serve as a vice president of Iran, specifically Vice President for Women and Family Affairs from 2017 to 2021.
Despite that history, her son Hashemi had been living in Southern California, working as a lecturing psychology professor while residing in Los Angeles County with his wife, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/06/us-news/son-of-irans-twisted-pr-chief-found-living-life-of-luxury-in-la-and-hes-teaching-superrich-california-kids/">New York Post</a>. Reports and photographs placed him at upscale locations in the area, fueling criticism that relatives of senior regime figures were benefiting from life in the United States.
Public pressure had been building for months. Petitions and protests called for federal authorities to review the immigration status of Hashemi and others connected to Iran’s ruling apparatus, arguing that allowing such individuals to remain in the country undermines U.S. credibility on human rights and national security.
In its statement, the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/04/secretary-rubio-terminates-green-cards-of-foreign-nationals-tied-to-infamous-iranian-regime-propagandist/">indicated</a> that the individuals originally received visas during the Obama administration before later obtaining green cards through the Diversity Visa Program.
Later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, “Her family should never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country. America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families.”
The move comes amid a broader push by the administration to target individuals in the U.S. with ties to Tehran’s ruling apparatus. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-asks-leavitt-about-iranian-officials-family-living-lavishly-in-the-u-s?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Daily+Wire+Asks+Leavitt+About+Iranian+Official’s+Family+Living+Lavishly+In+The+U.S.">The Daily Wire</a> the effort is a “top priority,” particularly in cases involving fraud or national security concerns.
“I understand one of the individual’s visas was revoked by Secretary Rubio, and they were deported by ICE because they had a fraudulent asylum claim,” Leavitt said, referring to a separate case involving relatives of the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. “Anyone who is here illegally or fraudulently is subject to our nation’s immigration laws and will be removed from our country.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1076379" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-870x576.jpg 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-768x509.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-2048x1357.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/iranian_official_fam_members_LA-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
That case involved Soleimani’s niece and grandniece, who were also taken into custody after reportedly living openly in the United States while expressing support for the regime, part of what officials describe as a pattern now under increased scrutiny.
The administration has already deported dozens of Iranian nationals over the past year, with hundreds more potentially facing removal as enforcement ramps up.
The message from the administration is that drawing a harder line not just against Iran’s government, but against those connected to it, is going to continue and we could see similar moves going forward.
For all the latest Iran news, follow <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+U.S.%2C+Iran+Face-To-Face+As+Trump+Warns+Negotiating+Window+Could+Close+Fast">The Daily Wire’s live blog</a>.

1179b268-3139-11e9-b26a-04579b7820b3.jpg

Anti-American ‘Screaming Mary’ Terrorist Family Faces New Reality: U.S. Isn’t Their Playground

Executive

State Department

Family members of slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani — a niece and a grandniece — were arrested by federal immigration agents after their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The State Department announced in a Saturday <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/04/secretary-rubio-revokes-green-cards-of-foreign-nationals-with-ties-to-iranian-terror-regime/">press release</a> that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter had been taken into custody and were being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
<blockquote>Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.
While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the “Great Satan,” and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization. Afshar Soleimani pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account.</blockquote>
Rubio explained in an X post why he had moved to terminate their LPR status, saying, &#8220;Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.&#8221;
Rubio went on to note Afshar&#8217;s continued support for the Iranian regime and her attacks on the United States, adding, &#8220;This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter&#8217;s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.
Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/2040454251260809340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Afshar&#8217;s husband, according to the State Department&#8217;s release, will be barred from entering the United States in the future.
The U.S. State Department has also previously revoked legal status of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/their-parents-run-the-iranian-regime-theyre-teaching-your-kids-at-american-universities">Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani,</a> whose father was the late Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. In addition to having their status reversed, neither will be permitted to return to the United States.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Relatives of Infamous Iranian Butcher Get One-Way Ticket From Marco Rubio

Family Members Of Slain Iranian General Arrested, U.S. Legal Status Revoked

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Qassem Soleimani

The New York Times got hit with a wave of backlash — and ultimately was forced to issue a correction — after Friday&#8217;s print edition included a headline replacing the word &#8220;Atlantic&#8221; in North Atlantic Treaty Organization with &#8220;American.&#8221;
POLITICO editor Sasha Issenburg drew attention to the flub, sharing a photo of the newspaper showing both the date and the erroneous headline, which read, &#8220;A North American Treaty Organization Without America?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Does the <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nytimes</a> know what NATO stands for? <a href="https://t.co/wvD1WxPOnN">pic.twitter.com/wvD1WxPOnN</a>
— Sasha Issenberg (@sissenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/sissenberg/status/2040078016576204989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer weighed in on the paper&#8217;s mistake, noting that every headline published by The New York Times had to make it past multiple editors before going to print.
&#8220;The NYT should release the names of every editor who read this and did not correct it. They have multiple layers of editors, especially for the print publication. That’s what the NYT would demand when the government makes a bad mistake. They should live up to the same standard,&#8221; he said.
Former Trump administration official Richard Grenell pointed out that the piece&#8217;s author, Steven Erlanger, as the paper&#8217;s Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for Europe: &#8220;Yikes.&#8221;
President Trump even commented on the flub on Saturday morning, saying in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116346654846871260">Truth Social post</a>, &#8220;The Failing New York Times, whose lack of credibility, and their constant Fake News attacks on your favorite President, ME, has caused its circulation to absolutely PLUMMET, referred to our severely weakened and extremely unreliable “partner,”NATO, as the North American Treaty Organization. The correct name is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization &#8211; A very interesting mistake! The hiring and educational standards have gone way down at the NYT. Bring back, “ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT” and, Make America Great Again!&#8221;
The article itself referenced President Donald Trump&#8217;s repeated threats to leave the organization over other nations — primarily in Europe — not providing monetary or military support when the United States is the one asking. Those threats have only accelerated as European allies have failed to answer calls for assistance with Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/rubio-says-us-need-reexamine-nato-membership-allies-blocked-basing-airspace-help">equally critical</a> of NATO, saying in recent remarks that if the United States could not rely on NATO allies when help was needed.
&#8220;If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can&#8217;t use those bases, that, in fact, that we can no longer use those bases to defend America&#8217;s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. Then NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe,&#8221; Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity, adding that it did not make strategic sense for the United States to remain in the organization if it was going to be so one-sided.
By Friday afternoon, the outlet <a href="https://x.com/NYTimesPR/status/2040142477215056082">issued a statement</a> promising a correction in Saturday&#8217;s print edition: &#8220;A correction will appear in tomorrow&#8217;s print edition: &#8216;A headline with an article on Friday about President Trump’s threats to leave NATO misstated the full name of the body. It is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not the North American Treaty Organization.'&#8221;

New York Times

New York Times Forced To Issue Correction After Wild Whiff On NATO

Media

Military

NATO

The New York Times

As millions of Christians across the world celebrate Holy Week, believers in Nigeria have already been shaken by a Palm Sunday attack that reportedly left dozens dead. 
A group of gunmen opened fire on a crowd in the northern Nigerian Plateau State on Sunday evening as many people returned home from evening worship services. While the official death count is still being confirmed, <a href="https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/stories/Palm-Sunday-Attack-Shakes-Nigerian-Community/">local reports</a> have indicated that as many as 27 people could have been killed. 
Some witnesses have <a href="https://persecution.org/2026/03/30/dozens-killed-during-palm-sunday-attacks-in-nigeria/">blamed</a> the terrorist group Boko Haram for the attack while others said it was a group of Fulani militia, a largely Muslim group that has targeted Nigeria’s Christian communities. The attack took place in the majority Christian town of Angwan Rukuba.
&#8220;Here in Jos in Nigeria, we say that there is no Christian holiday or event left on the Christian calendar that has escaped an attack by radical Islamists or terrorists in Nigeria, whether it is Christmas, Easter or Good Friday, Palm Sunday, or Sunday services or whatever. We are trapped,” one local lawyer told Fox News after the attack. 
The attacks have led to calls for action from Congress, including Rep. Mark Harris, a Christian pastor and North Carolina Republican representative, who sent a letter on Thursday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 
Harris pointed to the Palm Sunday attack in Nigeria and violence <a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-christians-sectarian-attacks-suqaylabiyah-d3c66fd9713084c1fbab0c307c77bcf9">targeting</a> the Christian city of Suqaylabiyah in Syria over the weekend. 
“As Christian communities in both countries continue to be terrorized, displaced, and killed for their faith, this crisis requires the Department of State to ensure that both governments take decisive action to protect innocent Christians,” Harris wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio first obtained by The Daily Wire. “When Christians are targeted for worshiping, gathering, and living openly in their faith, the United States should speak with moral clarity and act with resolve — and under President Trump’s and your leadership, we have.”
Harris asked for clarity on if the State Department had taken any action related to the attacks and if any consequences will be imposed on the governments of Syria and Nigeria if they fail to take action over the violence. 
“This urgency is only heightened as Christians around the world observe Holy Week and remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Harris wrote. “At a time when believers should be free to gather in worship, far too many Christians in places like Nigeria and Syria are instead forced to worship in fear, grieve loved ones lost to violence, or wonder whether they will be targeted next simply for living out and practicing their faith.”
The State Department has routinely condemned Christian persecution around the world, recently labeling Nigeria as a country of particular concern for Christian persecution. President Donald Trump ordered strikes targeting Islamic terror groups on Christmas Day, and the country has hired lobbyists to convince the American government it is doing enough to protect Christians. 
“For too long, persecuted Christians around the world have watched the international community issue statements while their churches are burned, their families are slaughtered, and their future in their ancestral homelands disappear,” Harris said. “The United States must remain an unapologetic voice for those who are suffering for their faith and a forceful advocate for governments to uphold their responsibility to protect innocent life.”

NIGERIA-RELIGION-UNREST

Dozens Feared Dead After Christians Targeted In Holy Week Massacre

Christian Persecution

Islamic Jihad

Nigeria

Syria

Signaling a seismic shift in the post-WWII global order, President Donald Trump said he is &#8220;strongly considering&#8221; withdrawing the United States from NATO, delivering one of his clearest warnings that Washington may no longer be willing to underwrite European security without reciprocal support.
Delivered in a characteristically blunt interview with <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/01/donald-trump-strongly-considering-pulling-us-out-of-nato/">The Telegraph</a>, Trump argued the alliance has become a &#8220;one-way street,&#8221; with the United States expected to defend Europe while allies decline to support American operations.
The catalyst for this potential divorce is the refusal of European allies to support the U.S.-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for 20% of the world’s oil — which has been temporarily shuttered by Tehran.
Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership after the war with Iran is over, Trump did not hedge.
“Oh yes, I would say beyond reconsideration,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
Trump pointed directly to European reluctance to support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for 20% of the world&#8217;s oil that has been shuttered by Iran, as evidence that the alliance is failing, and noted that while the United States has &#8220;automatically&#8221; stood by Europe, including in non-member states like Ukraine, the favor has not been returned.
&#8220;They weren’t there for us,&#8221; Trump remarked, specifically lambasting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a lack of naval support.
Senior administration officials are now echoing the president&#8217;s frustration.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that continued U.S. participation in NATO cannot be taken for granted if allies expect protection while limiting American military flexibility.
&#8220;If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked but then denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement,&#8221; he said.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went further, arguing the war has exposed a fundamental imbalance.
&#8220;You don’t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them,&#8221; Hegseth stated.
The statements point to a hardening of the administration&#8217;s NATO stance. Sources suggest the White House is eyeing a model that would block delinquent or uncooperative members from decision-making and is revisiting plans to withdraw troops from Germany.
As the U.S. and Israel continue air strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, the message from Washington is clear: the era of the American &#8220;blank check&#8221; for European security is over. If NATO will not serve as a platform for mutual security, President Trump appears ready to walk away from the table entirely.

President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting

Trump Eyes Major NATO Shift After Allies Fail Key Test

Pete Hegseth

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