Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faced a public rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who accused her of lacking courage and letting Washington down. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Trump stated that Meloni was “very different from what I thought” and criticized her for not helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran.
Trump’s criticism marked a significant shift in his tone toward Meloni, who had previously attended his inauguration and been hailed as a great leader. He accused her of failing to back US efforts to tackle Iran’s nuclear program and guarantee energy flows through the Gulf, stating that she wanted America “to do the job for her.”
The reprimand came amid a tumultuous month for Meloni, during which she lost a referendum on judicial reform in March and saw her political ally Viktor Orban ousted from power in Hungary. The US-Israeli war in the Gulf threatened to upend Italy’s economy with surging energy costs and was unpopular among Italians, putting Meloni at odds with Trump once again.