Baal out: Top diplomat's worry about pagan god elicits eye rolls (axios.com)

The second-most powerful man at the State Department put the brakes on a U.S. international exhibit featuring a bull statue because he worried it might look like Baal, a pagan god some associate with Satanic child sacrifice. Why it matters: The anecdote illustrates the quirky interests of Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, according to department critics, who say he spends too much time on social media focusing on the unimportant. Zoom in: The issue revolves around an international exposition next year in Belgrade, Serbia , where the U.S. plans to feature a statue of a bucking bull at an exhibit celebrating the American West. On Aug. 19, at 4:15 p.m., Landau sent an email to staffers about it: "I remain somewhat concerned by the Golden Bull imagery! Did a quick internet search and don't want it to become a distraction. The golden calf from the Bible is often portrayed as a golden bull." Providing hyperlinked footnotes and images of golden bull worship, Landau explored the ancient history of Baal as well as the "Modern Cultural Comparisons." "The imagery of a golden bull or calf is frequently invoked metaphorically today," he 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." Behind the scenes: The email, which was forwarded to multiple officials, elicited eyerolls and snickers inside the State Department. The bull statue was put on hold as State officials spent the last few weeks debating how to make it both interesting and non-Satanic. "It's just totally weird stuff and it's really indicative of the guy," a State Department official said. "Literally, no one thinks about Baal unless they're spending way too much time online, which Landau is," a different U.S. official lamented. "It's like an episode of Veep. Someone should tell him this is a Western bull, not a Near East bull," a third U.S. official said. Landau declined to comment through a State Department spokesperson. Screenshot: Chris Landau email Between the lines: Mentions of Baal spiked this year amid a wave of online antisemitism linked to Iranian propaganda and conspiracy theories about the Jeffrey Epstein files. In late January, a conspiracy theory spread on X that Epstein had a bank account named Baal, a name some online commentators have linked to child sacrifice. A Yahoo fact check found that the "Baal" reference was actually an AI scanning error for "bank." Weeks later, just before the U.S. and Israel unleashed their Feb. 28 bombing campaign, Iranian officials organized rallies across the country where people burned effigies of Baal. The regime specifically linked the symbol to Epstein and an alleged cult of child sacrifice. Around this time, right-wing podcaster Candace Owens made an episode called "BAAL SO HARD: The Epstein Files." It has nearly 3 million views. Zoom out: Landau became a State Department online sensation during Presid