Divisions across the U.S. and European political right have been thrown into sharp relief over the past month, following the public row between U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
The confrontation occurred over a seemingly trivial incident, when, during a summit between the leaders of the G7 countries in France on June 17, the two leaders were photographed in close and seemingly friendly discussion.
Following this, however, Trump went on to social media to brag that Meloni had apparently “begged” for the photo with him, stating on Truth Social that Meloni had “asked, over and over, for a picture with me.”
“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons,” he added, further noting that the European nation did not let U.S. forces use its landing strips or runways, prompting a logistical inconvenience.
The U.S. president also appeared on Italy’s La7 TV channel, where he repeated his claim that Meloni had pleaded for a photo with him. “I felt sorry for her. She’s probably happy I spoke to her,” Trump said.
Reactions in Rome
The claim that Meloni had begged Trump for a photo op has provoked anger from Rome. “Some things need immediate replies,” Meloni stated in a short video posted on her personal X account, on June 19th.
“The claims made by Donald Trump are completely unfounded. Frankly, I’m shocked. I don’t understand why the President of the United States behaves like this towards his allies. It’s not the first time it’s happened after all… It’s a pity that he doesn’t show the same determination with the enemies of the West and the United States, whose leaders he treats with far greater indulgence,” she added.
“There is one thing he should remember. Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
In a separate statement, posted the following day, Meloni further described Trump’s attacks as “constant, unprovoked,” and “senseless.”
“As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you,” she said. The public’s approval of her government, the prime minister said, lied instead on her ability to defend Italy’s national interests.
“That is also what I did regarding the American military bases in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected, and that cannot be violated as long as I am prime minister. Italy remains a sovereign nation. In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a trip to the U.S. that he had been due to make last week, adding that Trump’s comments offended “all of Italy.”
Meanwhile, his co-deputy and Minister for Transport, Matteo Salvini, stated on X that “whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni, attacks all of us.”
Meloni has also received support from opposition politicians. Filippo Sensi, a senator for the centre-left Democratic Party, expressed his solidarity with Meloni over Trump’s “unspeakable words.”
“No one is allowed to adopt such an arrogant tone toward the person leading the Italian government. I have nothing in common with Meloni, but no one can treat Italy this way,” Sensi said.
Meanwhile, Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, agreed with Meloni’s assertion that Trump had entirely made up the story, dubbing the president “a serial liar and a ridiculous bully.”
“Personally, I don’t believe Giorgia Meloni begged for anything at all,” Calenda stated. “In any case, these insults must be rejected as they undermine the nation’s honour.”
Changing relationships
Meloni had previously been one of Trump’s staunchest European allies. As leader of the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, Meloni has become associated with the U.S. president in sharing many of his nationalist values.
The FdI have long maintained links with the U.S. Republican party, and Meloni was widely seen as being uniquely placed in representing Europe’s interests whilst Trump occupies the White House.
The U.S. head of state had previously described Meloni as a “fantastic woman.” She was the only EU leader to attend his second inauguration as president in January 2025.
“I think that Meloni is the European leader who risks the most when confronting Donald Trump so directly,” Filippo Simonelli, a researcher with the Istituto Affari Internazionali, a think tank based in Rome, told EU Reports.
“Unlike, say, [Spanish left-wing Prime Minister] Pedro Sánchez, she has been given unprecedented access to American conservative circles and has a base that still may find common ground with the Republicans today.”
Simonelli added that a genuine break from Washington is effectively impossible for Rome, given how much European capitals still depend on the U.S. for defence and deterrence.
In recent months, however, Meloni had allegedly sought to distance herself from Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, as Trump’s tariffs and his choice to join Israel in attacking Iran have hurt the Italian economy – and caused his popularity within her electorate to drop sharply.
A recent Ipsos poll found that 77% of Italians held a negative view of Trump, and 74% say the war in Iran is being poorly managed by the U.S. head of state. This view reigns true even for supporters of FdI, Forza Italia, and others on the right of Italian politics.
Meloni herself conceded defeat in a March referendum on her flagship judicial reform, which would have separated the roles of judges and prosecutors – representing a major blow to her leadership. With Italy’s next general election expected by late 2027, Meloni may be looking to use the Trump row to bolster her image and project a defiant front ahead of the campaign.
“In terms of domestic consensus, this move could be read as an attempt to win moderate voters,” Simonelli argued. “She hopes to gather a rally around the flag effect to give her a boost before the proper start of the electoral campaign.”
Whilst Meloni has confirmed she views Iran as a threat, she had previously blocked U.S. planes from using bases in Italy for military strikes, described the attack on a girls school in Iran by American forces as a “massacre”, and compared U.S.-Israel cooperates with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – stating it is “outside the scope of international law.”
In April, she also criticised Trump’s comments about Pope Leo XIV after the head of the Vatican called for an end to the war and condemned the Republican administration’s threats to “wipe out” Iranian civilisation.
Whereas Trump claimed Pope Leo was “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy, his comments angered Catholics in both the U.S. and Italy, and were described by Meloni as “unacceptable”.
“The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he calls for peace and condemns all forms of war,” she added.
A wider shift
Meloni’s stance mirrors that of other right-wing politicians across Europe who have distanced themselves from Trump and the MAGA movement in the wake of the Iran conflict.
In Germany, the far-right AfD had pulled back from their links to MAGA following Trump’s comments on Greenland and his interventions in Venezuela and Iran, cutting the frequency of trips to the U.S. and meetings with Republicans.
AfD leaders Alice Widel and Tino Chrupalla called for all warring parties “to exercise absolute restraint” over Iran, warning that “the renewed destabilization of the Middle East is not in Germany’s interest and must be stopped.”
In the UK, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage both initially backed the war before reversing course, saying Britain should stay out amid soaring energy costs.
And following the most recent Meloni-Trump row, France’s Marine Le Pen has also publicly sided with the Italian prime minister. Trump, Le Pen said, “was very insulting, so I fully understand Giorgia Meloni’s reaction, which is one of national pride.” She further accused the U.S. president of breaking his promise to not become involved in any more foreign wars.
Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s successor as President of the National Rally party – and favourite to replace her as its candidate for the 2027 French Presidential elections next year – has likewise said he doesn’t want Trump’s endorsement:
“The support we’re seeking is that of the French people, the support of French voters. We don’t need to accept or open the door to any form of interference.”
With elections ahead in Italy, France, and Poland, and after the White House’s intervention in Hungary’s election seemingly backfired, Europe’s right-wing parties look set to keep their distance from Trump.
Gianfranco Pasquino, emeritus political science professor at the University of Bologna, put it more bluntly:
“Meloni was convinced to have become Trump’s best friend, to be recognized as such and to be proud to show it off on the international scene,” Pasquino told EU Reports. “Trump needs no friends, but supporters, collaborators, servants. ‘Sovereignists’… are bound to clash. So much the worse for them, and for the international disorder. Further conflicts are not in Meloni’s interest… No boost in popularity, but the recognition that she is tough and proud.”
Closer ties with Europe?
Meloni now seems to be pushing for a reset with Trump. While “sincerely taken aback” by his comments, she has insisted there will be no change in Italian foreign policy.
“Maintaining a solid relationship between the U.S. and the EU is what the West’s strength is based on. Our bilateral relations with the United States should return to normal,” she said. “There is no need to take it any further, I do not intend to continue fuelling this row.”
At the same time, she has sought closer ties with her European partners. A summit last week in Antibes with French President Emmanuel Macron was described as a “marriage of convenience” driven partly by Trump’s unreliability as an ally.
Michel Duclos, a former French ambassador and diplomat, told The Telegraph that “Meloni is moving ever closer to the European axis, given that she’s taken the right stance on Ukraine and is now falling out with Trump.”
“I am not anti-American today; I was not kneeling yesterday,” Meloni stated on June 30.
“I am a person who believes that the West is stronger united, who believes that Italy is stronger in a united West, and has worked and continues to work for this. After that, however, solid relationships are also based on frankness, and I am a frank person.”
Featured image: Giorgia meloni e Donald Trump, il 17 aprile 2025
Author: Governo italiano
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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