May 8 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted his support for NATO, the pope and Italy on Friday during his visit to the country, but said President Donald Trump may still continue social media attacks.
"The president will always speak clearly about how he feels about the U.S. and U.S. policy," Rubio said after being asked by reporters in Rome if he would ask Trump to limit his verbal attacks. He said, "the president of the United States is always going to act on what's in the best interest of the United States."
He added that Trump's decision to remove troops from Germany was already in the works.
"There was always a plan to do some shifting within NATO," Rubio said. He added that the troops that are being removed from Germany "represent less than 14% of our total troop presence there."
Rubio, who visited Pope Leo XIV with his wife and several State Department employees Thursday, gifted the pope a crystal football with the State Department's logo on it, while the pope gave Rubio a pen made from an olive branch.
