Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has long been Donald Trump’s most devoted European ally, avoiding any strong public criticism of the US president despite increasingly outrageous provocations.
But Meloni has now abandoned her cautious deference. In a fierce war of words on social media she has hit back, criticising Trump’s behaviour towards his allies and accusing him of indulging the enemies of the US and the west.
The prime minister’s fury was apparently triggered by Trump telling an Italian journalist on Friday that Meloni had “begged” him to take a photo with her at a recent G7 summit in France.
Giovanni Orsina, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University, said the remarks were “totally unacceptable” to a prime minister who projects herself as “the politician who defends Italy’s honour and interests”.
© Donald J. Trump/Truth Social
