Donald Trump called Giorgia Meloni “unacceptable” in a six-minute phone interview with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, escalating a public break with the Italian prime minister after she had criticized his recent remarks targeting Pope Leo XIV. Trump said he was “shocked” by Meloni’s stance and accused her of lacking “courage” and failing to support Washington’s efforts against Iran.
“She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump said, adding that Meloni “isn’t giving us any help, I’m shocked by her,” and dismissing her criticism of his comments on the pope with the line that she should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.” He also said she was “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” language that turned a personal dispute into a broader attack on her leadership.
The clash lands at a delicate moment for both leaders. Just weeks before the dispute, Trump had praised Meloni as “a great leader,” and she attended his 2025 inauguration. On Tuesday, Meloni said Italy had suspended the automatic renewal of a long-standing defense cooperation agreement with Israel, a move that underlined how far she has been trying to navigate domestic pressure as the Middle East conflict widens.
The friction also came as tensions rose over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, a passage Trump described as critical when he said, “They depend on Donald Trump to keep it open,” referring to global energy routes through the waterway. Meloni had already drawn Trump’s ire by calling his remarks about Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable,” and he shot back that she was “catering to the Radical Left” and “has no idea what’s going on in Iran,” saying she “doesn’t understand” the stakes.
The exchange shows a familiar strain in transatlantic politics: a leader who has been publicly embraced by Trump now trying to chart her own line under pressure from war, energy security and domestic politics. The White House and Meloni’s office did not immediately respond, leaving the sharpest question unanswered for now — whether this is a temporary quarrel or a sign that Meloni is moving further away from Washington just as the crisis in the Middle East deepens.
