French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has sided with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in her public dispute with President Donald Trump.
The feud erupted over the weekend after Trump claimed Meloni had "begged" him for a photograph at a recent G7 meeting and accused her of using their relationship for domestic political gain. Meloni pushed back, saying Trump had fabricated the story and telling him to mind his own business, and Politico flagged Le Pen's defense of the Italian leader.
“He was very insulting, so I fully understand Giorgia Meloni’s reaction, which is one of national pride,” Le Pen said Wednesday in an interview with French radio France Culture. “Is this a definitive break between the two nations? Certainly not. Is this a severe cooldown of the relationship between the two individuals? Most certainly.”
The comments highlight a widening rift between the Trump administration and parts of Europe's far right, many of whom once viewed Trump as a political ally. Le Pen's protégé, National Rally president Jordan Bardella, previously praised Trump but has also recently distanced himself from him.
Le Pen herself has long kept Washington at arm's length, in keeping with a French political tradition of guarding the country's independence.
"One doesn't have friends when it comes to foreign relations," she said. "One has interests, which can be common interests or conflicting ones."
She credited Trump with a rare political conviction but said his handling of the Iran war contradicted his own promises.