The second-most powerful official at the State Department put the brakes on a U.S. exhibit featuring a bull statue because he worried it might evoke Baal, a pagan god some associate with satanic child sacrifice.
Axios reported that Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau emailed staffers Aug. 19 about the "Golden Bull imagery" planned for an international exposition next year in Belgrade, Serbia, writing that he had researched the topic online and didn't want it "to become a distraction."
"The imagery of a golden bull or calf is frequently invoked metaphorically today," Landau wrote. "For instance, critics and commentators sometimes compare modern financial fixations — typified by the famous Charging Bull statue on Wall Street to the ancient worship of material idols."
The email, forwarded to multiple officials, reportedly drew eye rolls inside the department, which spent weeks debating how to make the exhibit both interesting and non-satanic.
"It's just totally weird stuff and it's really indicative of the guy," one State Department official told Axios. Another said, "Literally, no one thinks about Baal unless they're spending way too much time online, which Landau is." A third joked, "It's like an episode of 'Veep.' Someone should tell him this is a Western bull, not a Near East bull."
Landau declined to comment through a department spokesperson.
References to Baal have spiked online this year amid antisemitic conspiracy theories tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files and Iranian propaganda, including a January claim that Epstein had a bank account named "Baal," which was later debunked as an AI misreading of the word "bank."
Landau, who built a large online following as ambassador to Mexico during Trump's first term, has faced other friction inside the administration, sources told Axios. He has clashed with Trump ally Paolo Zampolli, was accused of "going rogue" on Venezuela policy in June, and reportedly nearly orchestrated the firing of State official Gavin Wax over a lunch with Serbian officials.
A senior official said Landau effectively "hijacked" planning for the Belgrade exposition from Undersecretary of State Sarah Rogers, who is technically in charge of the effort.
Landau has also dismissed other proposed exhibit items, reportedly saying repeatedly, "No one cares about the moonrock."
A mechanical bucking bull that visitors could ride was scrapped over liability concerns in Serbia.
Rogers, Wax and the exhibit's art director did not respond to requests for comment.
Expo 2027 Belgrade runs from May 15 to Aug. 15, 2027.
"We'll have the bull sorted out by then," one official said. "And it won't be Satanic."
