US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for not backing him amid his ongoing faceoff with the Pope.In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Trump said, “I thought she had courage, I was wrong.”When asked whether he has the same relationship with Meloni as before, Trump said, “No, no. It has been negative. With anyone who denied us help in this Iranian situation, we no longer have the same relationship. They should know that Italy takes a lot of oil from the Strait…”Trump sharpened his attack, saying their bond had frayed. “She’s been negative,” Trump told Fox News. “Anybody that turned us down to helping with this Iran situation, we do not have the same relationship.”Meloni has not responded to Trump’s attacks, but many believe that a backsliding relationship with Trump could be an advantage for her as she recovers from a decisive referendum defeat last month and seeks to dull the impact of the deeply unpopular Iran war, including higher energy prices.Nathalie Tocci, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe and director of the International Affairs Institute, told Associated Press that “Trump has become completely toxic across Europe, across much of the world, including Italy.”
“I actually think this is a godsend for her,” she added.Meloni was expected to leverage her strong ties with him once he returned to office 15 months ago. The two had a perceived natural alliance, with nationalistic tendencies and similarly hard-line stances on immigration.But Italy was not spared the pain of Trump’s tariffs, and some may argue she has gotten little out of the relationship. When asked if they had spoken this month, Trump told Corriere, “No, not in a long time.”After an uncomfortable appearance in the Oval Office a year ago, when she avoided directly confronting Trump on tariffs, the distance grew over the Iran war. Meloni has stated Italy will not participate in the war, and last month the country refused US bombers authorisation to land at a pivotal air base in Sicily.Meloni’s statement this week calling Trump’s attack on the Pope “unacceptable” was the most direct criticism of the president yet.“Well, I think what I said is what I think: that the statements, in particular about the pontiff, were unacceptable. I expressed, and I express, my solidarity with Pope Francis. I’ll tell you more — frankly, I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a society where religious leaders do what political leaders say, let’s say, not in this part of the world. That’s why I disagreed, and I told you so.”Meanwhile, Italian cabinet minister Adolfo Urso said US–Italy relations would not be shaken by the flap.“Italy and the United States are allied countries and maintain their relationship and alliance within international institutions, starting obviously with the Atlantic Alliance,” he told Radio 24, adding that the Church’s moral teachings “cannot crack relationships consecrated in alliances signed a few decades ago.”
