In January 2025, the Trump Meloni relationship was at its peak when Giorgia Meloni was the only European leader to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. At the time, the U.S. President called her a “fantastic person” and a “great leader.” Today, those compliments have vanished.
The special relationship between Washington and Rome appears to have ended. This rift was caused by a clash of national interests rather than a single event. Trump demands absolute loyalty to his agenda, while Meloni has shifted toward a policy of strategic autonomy, adopting a harder line with both her overseas ally and partners in the EU.
Why did the Trump Meloni relationship sour?
➤ Disagreement over the Pope
Donald Trump publicly attacked Pope Leo XIV, calling him “terrible at foreign policy” for his moderate stance on Iran. For Meloni, who leads a Catholic nation, staying silent would have been political suicide. Her response, calling Trump’s words “unacceptable,” was taken as a personal insult by the White House.
“The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church; it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war,” Meloni stated.
Trump, unaccustomed to public rebukes from European allies, responded through the newspaper Corriere della Sera with visible hostility:
“Actually, the only unacceptable thing here is her, because she doesn’t care if Iran gets nuclear weapons. With such an arsenal, Iran would wipe Italy off the face of the earth in a few minutes if it had the chance.”
The U.S. President went further, targeting the most sensitive issues for Meloni’s right-wing government—migration and security: “I thought she was brave, but I was wrong… She is not the same as before, and Italy will never be the same: it, like all of Europe, is being killed by immigration.”
➤ Middle East shift: From support to sanctions against Israel
As Washington issued reproaches, Rome took political steps indicating that Italy would no longer follow U.S. policy in the Middle East.
After the Israeli military fired on an area near an Italian UNIFIL peacekeeping convoy, Meloni froze the automatic renewal of a defense agreement with Tel Aviv. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, while in Beirut, called the Israeli strikes on Lebanon “unacceptable.”
Explaining her break from the U.S. line, Meloni formulated a new foreign policy doctrine for Italy: “With allies, one must have the courage to disagree.”
The Second Front: Freezing the Stability Pact
Meloni simultaneously opened a second front by issuing demands to the European Union leadership. Speaking in Verona, she signaled that Italy is preparing for a prolonged crisis. Meloni is demanding that the EU ease budget rules and environmental taxes (ETS and CBAM). Without this, she argues, “Europe risks being too late to react to the crisis again.”
Despite rising energy prices, the Prime Minister rejected proposals to resume purchases of Russian gas, calling for other methods of diversification. Trump, commenting on the EU energy crisis, noted, “They are paying the highest prices… and they are counting on Donald Trump.” However, Meloni made it clear that Rome will rely only on itself. The question remains whether the Italian economy has enough resilience to maintain this independence during global energy and political instability.