Giorgia Meloni, Trump's Friend in Europe, Seeks Distance on Iran [View all]

Source: The New York Times

During a visit to the White House last year, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy bonded with President Trump over their shared opposition to “woke” ideologies and migration. After the meeting, Ms. Meloni, the only sitting European leader to attend Mr. Trump’s second presidential inauguration, said she was proud of their “privileged relationship.”

Now, as an American war with Iran causes economic pain throughout Europe, Ms. Meloni’s once vaunted friendship with Mr. Trump is proving to be a liability, just as she is seeking to win a tight referendum later this month over a contentious judicial change.

Ms. Meloni has led one of the longest and most stable governments in Italy’s tumultuous postwar history — and her party still outperforms its rivals in the national polls. Yet the war and her handling of it is raising some of the thorniest political challenges she has faced since entering office in 2022.

Critics have condemned her for failing to wield any visible influence over President Trump’s wartime decisions and for her ambivalent response to his decision to attack Iran.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/world/europe/meloni-trump-iran-italy.html