Donald Trump’s spat with Giorgia Meloni worsened on Tuesday, when the president told an Italian daily that he was “shocked” by the Italian prime minister’s comments.
Meloni strongly condemned Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran, describing his remarks—about the pontiff being “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy”—as “unacceptable.”
The president then toldCorriere della Sera that “it’s her [Meloni] who’s unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if she had the chance.”
I’m shocked by her. I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.
For Trump, the row is clearly not just about what can or cannot be said about the pope, but about Europe’s lack of support for his war. Meloni has refused to allow Italy to join Trump’s conflict with Iran.
This is problematic for Europe as a whole, which has already fallen out with Washington over the conflict in the Middle East. The Italian PM has been previously described as a ‘bridge-builder’ with the U.S. president.
Italian defence writer Giovanni Martinelli joked on Tuesday that “sooner or later, all loves end.” He added in response to the spat that “even if by now we should be used to Trump’s language, his words against Meloni still seem particularly harsh.”
There is, however, the sense that Trump’s position could change again at any moment and that Meloni could soon re-emerge as his go-to leader in Europe. But for now, the falling out has likely worked in the prime minister’s favour, given political figures have hailed her “courage” in standing up to Trump.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
