WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have invited Pope Leo XIV to the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Wire on Monday.

Leavitt took questions from the press at a 9:00 a.m. briefing, where she responded to The Daily Wire’s question about Vice President JD Vance’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome.

“My understanding was it was a good meeting, a productive meeting, and we’re grateful that the vice president did it and that he also went to the Pope’s first mass in Rome,” Leavitt shared.

“I also have an update on that,” the press secretary added, sharing: “The Vice President passed along a letter to the Pope from the President and from the First Lady, extending their warm wishes and inviting him to the White House as soon as he possibly can come.”

Pope Leo and Vance sat down together for a 45-minute one-on-one discussion, after which Rubio joined them. Second Lady Usha Vance and Rubio’s wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, joined the leaders afterward for an exchange of gifts. Vance gifted the Holy Father a Chicago Bears jersey with “Pope Leo XIV” on the back, a gesture towards the pope’s American heritage.

Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha (Photo by Simone Risoluti Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Vance also gave the pope “The City of God” and “On Christian Doctrine,” by St. Augustine. Vance chose St. Augustine as his patron saint when he converted to Catholicism, and Pope Leo is the first pope from the Order of St. Augustine.

“This morning in Vatican City, Vice President JD Vance met privately with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,” the Vice President’s office said in a Monday statement about the visit. “The Pope also held expanded meetings with the Vice President, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the U.S. delegation.”

“Following his meetings with the Pope, the Vice President met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations,” the statement added. “The Vice President and Archbishop Gallagher discussed religious freedom, the persecution of Christians around the world, and the shared commitment of President Trump and Pope Leo XIV to stop the killing in Ukraine and the Middle East.”

Vance met with Zelensky on Sunday in Rome, where the two leaders “discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace,” according to a readout from the vice president’s office.

Photo courtesy of the Office of the Vice President.

On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister bluntly stated that whether the despotic regime in Iran makes a nuclear deal with the United States or not, Iran will continue enriching uranium.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi claimed, “Special Interest groups; malign actors which set the agendas of at least previous Administrations,” should be ignored before adding, “we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal.”

In January 2024, the Arms Control Association noted that Iran had accelerated its production of uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels, pointing out that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had estimated Iran was producing approximately nine kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent uranium-235 per month. “Accelerating the production of uranium enriched to 60 percent U-235 is concerning because the material can be quickly enriched to weapons-grade levels or 90 percent,” the Arms Control Association reported.

“Once you’re at 60, you’re 90% of the way there. You are, in essence, a threshold nuclear weapons state, which is what Iran basically has become,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

Uranium enrichment involves increasing the concentration of the Uranium-235 (U-235) isotope in uranium, from its normal 0.7% to 3.5% for use in nuclear reactors or going further, over 20%, at which point it can be used for nuclear weapons.

“Because Iran has reduced its cooperation with the Agency, the IAEA is no longer able to precisely verify Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at any one time,” Iran Watch noted in late March of this year in a comprehensive article about Iran’s nuclear weapons program, adding, “Iran’s nuclear program has reached the point at which Iran might be able to enrich enough uranium for five fission weapons within about one week and enough for eight weapons in less than two weeks.”

The danger of Iran further enriching uranium was explicated thus: “Iran’s centrifuges have not produced uranium usually defined as weapon-grade, which is uranium enriched to 90% or higher in the isotope U-235. All of Iran’s production has been at lower grades. Thus, the lower-grade uranium would have to be enriched further to reach at least 90%.”

In April 2024, Iran launched a reported 30 cruise and 120 ballistic missiles targeting Israel; the U.S. Director of National Intelligence stated, “Iran has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the region and continues to emphasize improving the accuracy, lethality and reliability of these systems.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei verbally attacked President Donald Trump in front of a crowd chanting “death to America” in recent comments; Khamenei accused Trump of “lying.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Trump Is Lying and His Statements Are Not Worth a Response; Israel Will Be Dismantled; Crowd Chants “Death to America” Multiple Times pic.twitter.com/STqgNBsSP5

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 18, 2025