A double insult to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – one from the US president and one from a Russian commentator – appears to be gaining support among at least some of her critics.
Last week, US President Donald Trump, who has a historically close relationship with Italy’s conservative leader, slammed Meloni as “unacceptable” after he stood up for his criticism of Pope Leo XIV.
“She is an unacceptable person, because she doesn’t care if Iran has nuclear weapons and would blow up Italy in two minutes if she had the chance,” he told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong.”
The controversy spilled over beyond U.S.-Italy relations this week, when Russian TV personality Vladimir Solovyov called Trump a “clear fool” and a “disgrace to humanity” over his “betrayal” of him and support for Ukraine.
Italy’s Meloni supports Pope Leo in clash with President Trump
Italy summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a formal complaint, but Meloni posted a cryptic response on X.
“Essentially, hard-working regime propagandists cannot teach us any lessons about consistency or freedom. But these caricatures will never change our ways,” she wrote. “Unlike others, we have no constraints, no masters, no orders. Our compass remains one of Italy’s national interests, and we continue to follow it with pride, much to the chagrin of propagandists around the world.”
Rather than hurting the Italian leader, the thorn appears to have won her support at home, even uniting those who fiercely opposed and criticized her.
“Her opponents have always argued that she is subservient to Trump. Now it’s harder for them to attack her,” Giovanni Orsina, chair of the political science department at Rome’s Luis University, told CNN. “More or less, the same can be said about the attack by Russia. It was really very harsh and somehow this forced the opposition, even the president of the republic, to defend her.”
President Sergio Mattarella, a left-wing politician, has often opposed Meloni’s government’s policies, particularly regarding reproductive rights and immigration.
The spat also appears to be helping boost her approval ratings here in Italy, where she recently lost a referendum on judicial reform. After losing more than 10 points in weekly post-referendum polls, her popularity has recovered to pre-referendum levels, according to the SWG-La7 political poll.
“I think this is an advantage, ultimately,” Orsina told CNN. “Not without conditions, but for her it was more of a plus than a minus. For Italian public opinion, that kind of attack on the pope was a little too much. And Meloni was definitely able to answer Trump on grounds that are favorable to her, or at least in a way that Italians perceive her to be right.”
It’s never easy. Meloni had previously been criticized by opponents for being Trump’s confidante in Europe. In January 2025, the so-called “Trump Whisperer” flew to Mar-a-Lago before the inauguration and praised Trump, who also has a close relationship with Elon Musk, as an “amazing woman.”
And it’s hard to forget President Trump’s taunts at her at the Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh last year.
“In the United States, that would be the end of your political career. But I’m taking the risk. Can I say you’re beautiful? Because you really are beautiful,” he said.
That comfort has become increasingly taxing for Meloni, especially after last summer’s threat of tariffs on European products and the recent U.S.-Israel war with Iran. She once enjoyed a coveted seat in Trump’s inner circle, but has recently avoided comment, other than to join Europe in “voicing concerns” about war. She stopped short of making accusations.
She was cautious, but just days before being rebuked by President Trump, she quietly announced that Italy would cut off formal defense ties with Israel. “In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of defense agreements with Israel,” Meloni told reporters in Verona in early April. “If there is something we disagree with, we will act accordingly.”
Even Mr. Meloni’s fiercest political opponent, opposition Democratic Party leader Ellie Schlein, offered a rare conciliatory comment about Mr. Meloni.
“I would like to reiterate that Italy is a free and sovereign country and that our constitution makes it clear that Italy disavows war,” Schlein, an Italian-American dual citizen, said in a speech to Congress last week.
“We cannot allow any foreign head of state to attack, threaten or disrespect our country and our government. We are adversaries in this chamber, but we are all Italian citizens and we represent the Italian people and we will not accept attacks and threats against our government and our country.” Schlein also defended Meloni after being insulted by Russian commentators.
The public discussion came at a time when Meloni was under intense scrutiny during his re-election campaign over public support for nationalist former Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán. Like Trump, Meloni built his career on nationalism, including anti-immigrant policies and an “Italy First” policy.
Following Mr. Orban’s defeat and Mr. Trump’s own declining popularity over the Iran war and its devastating impact on the global economy, his nationalist approach is increasingly seen as reckless among Italians.
“There is a growing sense that this form of nationalism may not actually be the right answer, and Mr. Orban’s defeat certainly contributed to that idea,” Orsina told CNN. “Her proposing the same nationalist answers as Orbán and Trump is probably not the right approach.”
Voters will have the final say on whether Meloni’s approach works. She is up for election in 2027. If the government remains healthy, she will become the longest-serving prime minister after Silvio Berlusconi and Benito Mussolini.
