Trump turns against ‘unacceptable’ Meloni

 

Trump turns against ‘unacceptable’ Meloni

 

This week’s rift puts a very public dent in the Italian leader’s relationship with the U.S. — but it could prove beneficial domestically.

 

April 14, 2026 5:03 pm CET

By Hannah Roberts

https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-turns-against-unacceptable-meloni-says-he-was-wrong-about-her/

 

ROME — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday branded Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as “unacceptable” and complained she was “no longer the same person,” a day after she criticized his attack on Pope Leo XIV.

 

In a phone interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Trump said he was “shocked by her. I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.”

 

Asked about Meloni’s comments on Monday — where she branded Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV as unacceptable — the U.S. president retorted: “It’s her who’s unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance.”

 

The prime minister’s political allies are standing by her. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto backed her boss on X, writing that “Giorgia Meloni is a leader who has never been afraid to speak her mind, especially when principles, respect and identity are at stake.”

 

With this recent spat, Trump has turned on his last — and maybe staunchest — ally in Europe.

 

The U.S. president was calling Meloni “a marvelous woman” and “a great leader” only a year ago, as the Italian leader was tipped by many to be the EU’s unofficial Trump-whisperer. She was the only European leader at his inauguration in January 2025 and acted as “a bridge” between Europe and the U.S. during talks on tariffs, according to Vice President JD Vance.

 

This week’s rift puts a very public dent in her relationship with the U.S. — but it could prove beneficial domestically.

 

Following a defeat in a high-stakes referendum that her allies have blamed on her closeness to Trump, Meloni has increasingly distanced herself from the American leader, leading up to her — delayed — condemnation of Trump’s attack on the pope on Monday.

 

First, her government refused permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella ​air base in Sicily and then the prime minister used a speech to the Italian parliament to list all the instances in which her government disagreed with the White House. Tensions rose on Monday after Meloni spoke out in defense of Pope Leo XIV.

 

The moves were a calculated political risk as her friendship with Trump became more of a political liability, framed by the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.

 

SWG polls in March suggested six in ten Italians were against the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran and nine in ten are very or quite worried about the war’s impact on energy prices.

 

The prime minister’s political allies are standing by her, too. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto backed her boss on X, writing that “Giorgia Meloni is a leader who has never been afraid to speak her mind, especially when principles, respect and identity are at stake.”

 

For other European leaders, a friendship with Trump has brought few economic advantages and a high political cost. Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán lost by a landslide on Sunday after Trump’s endorsement.

 

Meloni has worked out that alienating herself from Trump will help in the polls ahead of the general elections scheduled for 2027 — the next few months will tell if her strategy pays off.