Donald Trump is intensifying tensions with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, marking a sharp shift from what had once been a friendly political relationship.
The dispute began after Meloni pushed back against Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV. Meloni, who leads Italy’s right‑wing government and is a practicing Catholic, defended the Pope after Trump labeled him “terrible for foreign policy” and “weak on crime.”
“The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn every form of war,” she said, according to UNILAD.
Pope Leo XIV recently condemned the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, following warnings from Trump. Speaking to reporters, the Pope insisted he would not be intimidated: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or of speaking out loudly with the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.”
Trump reacted strongly to Meloni’s defense. In a phone interview with Corriere della Sera, he attacked the Italian leader: “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.” He added that he had been “shocked” by her stance, saying: “I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.”
Until now, Trump and Meloni had aligned on several issues, but the feud over Pope Leo appears to have driven a wedge between them. Trump even suggested he influenced the Pope’s election, claiming the Vatican chose an American pontiff strategically: “He was elected because he was American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
