President Donald Trump had a very public falling out last week with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but the rupture had been building for months.
Trump told an Italian journalist that Meloni had "begged" him for a photo at the recent G7 summit in France — a claim Meloni called "totally invented" – and a political scientist at a university in Rome explained to the Financial Times that the president's claims are “totally unacceptable” to the nationalist prime minister who presents herself as the defender of "Italy’s honor and interests."
“This attack was personal, implying a lack of dignity,” said Giovanni Orsina, of Luiss University. “But she does not see this as some petty personal issue. It’s a matter of honor, and honor for a nationalist is political."
"It’s as if he slighted the Italian flag somehow,” Orsina added.
Meloni had been Trump's most reliable European ally — the only EU leader to attend his second-term inauguration, and the recipient of some of his most effusive praise. He called her "a fantastic woman" and "one of the real leaders of the world." Vice President JD Vance wrote the foreword to her second book, and Trump promoted the English translation of her memoir, with a foreword from his son.
Now, that relationship has collapsed into a public war of words, and the breakdown traces back to a series of decisions Trump made that left Meloni with no room to maintain her loyalty.
Trump's tariffs on the EU hit Italian exporters directly, straining the relationship's economic benefits even as Meloni stayed publicly loyal. The deeper damage came with the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which sent energy prices surging and hurt Italian consumers. Rome quietly refused to let U.S. military aircraft refuel at Sicilian air bases — a rare act of distancing that Trump did not let go unanswered, later saying he was "shocked" by Meloni and that she "lacked courage."
The U.S. president deepened the rift further by attacking Pope Leo XIV, a vocal critic of the Iran war, calling him "terrible." Meloni, breaking her usual restraint, called the comment "unacceptable" — a notable departure for a leader who had avoided criticizing Trump even over the war itself.
Trump then escalated again, accusing Meloni on Truth Social of wanting to reconcile only to boost her sagging approval ratings, writing "No thanks!!!" Meloni shot back, suggesting their friendship had cost her politically: "Being your friend certainly has not helped it."
Analysts say Trump's repeated public jabs left Meloni little choice but to respond, particularly as his standing in Europe — even among the right — sinks to an all-time low.
“Trump is electorally toxic in Europe, even on the right,” said Stefano Stefanini, Italy’s former ambassador to NATO. “Being in an anti-Trump camp now can bring her some electoral benefits.”
Meloni's international policy is unpopular at home, and pollster Lorenzo Pregliasco said she had little to lose by cutting ties with Trump.
"[Trump is] now kryptonite in terms of public opinion and popularity," Pregliasco said. “She stayed very close to him even after many realized that Trump was pursuing an agenda that was not aligned with our European and Italian interests. Now it appears more like Trump repudiated her rather than the other way around.”