Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 14, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 14, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePresident Trump, once a staunch supporter of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, publicly rebukes her in an April 14, 2026 interview—expressing shock at her lack of courage and accusing her of failing to support U.S. efforts in the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz reopening.
By Crispian Balmer
ROME, April 14 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lacks courage and has let Washington down, U.S. President Donald Trump told an Italian newspaper on Tuesday, delivering a blunt public rebuke to one of his closest European allies.
Meloni had been a vociferous supporter of Trump, but she distanced herself from him after he went to war with Iran in February, and on Monday she openly criticised him for lashing out at Pope Leo, saying his verbal assault was "unacceptable".
Trump responded in an interview with Corriere della Sera, saying Meloni was "very different from what I thought" and denouncing her for refusing to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran.
"I'm shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong," he was quoted as saying in the Italian-language article.
The White House declined to comment on the reported quotes. Meloni's office also declined to comment, but politicians of all stripes rallied to her defence, including Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, head of the coalition Forza Italia party.
"We are, and will remain, sincere supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but that unity is built on loyalty, respect and mutual frankness," he said, applauding Meloni for denouncing Trump's attack on the pope.
"On Pope Leo XIV, she said exactly what all of us Italian citizens think," he added in a statement on X.
TRUMP REPRIMAND MARKS LATEST BLOW FOR MELONI
Trump's criticism marked a dramatic change in tone toward Meloni, the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025 and whom he had hailed as "a great leader" just one month ago.
On Tuesday he accused her of failing to back U.S. efforts to tackle Iran's nuclear programme and guarantee energy flows through the Gulf, saying she wanted America "to do the job for her."
Asked about her condemnation of his comments on Pope Leo, he said: "She is the one who is unacceptable, because she does not care whether Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow Italy up in two minutes if it had the chance."
The reprimand capped a tumultuous month for Meloni, who lost a crunch referendum on judicial reform in March and then saw her political ally Viktor Orban ousted from power in Hungary.
The U.S.-Israeli war in the Gulf threatens to upend the economy with surging energy costs and is hugely unpopular with Italians, putting Meloni on a collision course with Trump.
Seeking to distance herself from the conflict, she refused to let U.S. fighters use an airbase in Sicily for combat operations in Iran last month and on Tuesday, she suspended a military cooperation pact with Israel.
Trump said the surge in energy prices should have encouraged Italy, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas imports, to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
"They pay the highest energy costs in the world and are not even ready to fight for the Strait of Hormuz... They depend on Donald Trump to keep it open," Trump said.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Ros Russell, Alexandra Hudson)
Trump criticized Meloni for not supporting US actions on Iran and refusing to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
Meloni called Trump's criticism of Pope Leo 'unacceptable,' which further escalated tensions between the two leaders.
The conflict has increased energy prices in Italy, which relies heavily on oil and gas imports.
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