Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lacks courage and has let Washington down, US President Donald Trump told an Italian newspaper yesterday, delivering a blunt public rebuke to one of his closest European allies.
Meloni had been a vociferous supporter of Trump, but she distanced herself from him after he went to war with Iran in February, and on Monday she openly criticised him for lashing out at Pope Leo, saying his verbal assault was ‘unacceptable’.
Trump responded in an interview with Corriere della Sera, saying Meloni was ‘very different from what I thought’ and denouncing her for refusing to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran.
“I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong,” he was quoted as saying in the Italian-language article.
The White House declined to comment on the reported quotes. Meloni’s office also declined to comment, but politicians of all stripes rallied to her defence, including Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, head of the coalition Forza Italia party.
“We are, and will remain, sincere supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but that unity is built on loyalty, respect and mutual frankness,” he said, applauding Meloni for denouncing Trump’s attack on the Pope.
“On Pope Leo, she said exactly what all of us Italian citizens think,” he added in a statement on X.
Trump’s criticism marked a dramatic change in tone towards Meloni, the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025 and whom he had hailed as ‘a great leader’ just one month ago.
Yesterday, he accused her of failing to back US efforts to tackle Iran’s nuclear programme and guarantee energy flows through the Gulf, saying she wanted America ‘to do the job for her’.
Asked about her condemnation of his comments on Pope Leo, he said: “She is the one who is unacceptable, because she does not care whether Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow Italy up in two minutes if it had the chance.”
The reprimand capped a tumultuous month for Meloni, who lost a crunch referendum on judicial reform in March and then saw her political ally Viktor Orban ousted from power in Hungary.
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