Donald Trump has sparred with most of his fellow Group of Seven leaders at some point. But Italy’s Giorgia Meloni this week did something none of them dared: She escalated.
Unlike Spanish Socialist Pedro Sanchez, one of the few leaders in Europe who has made political capital of being berated by Trump, the Italian prime minister had stood out as one of the few Europeans he actually liked: an outspoken conservative at ease talking MAGA. But Meloni has also transitioned from a populist politician to a practical one.
When last year Trump repeatedly praised her looks – saying, “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? You are” – and others objected to the objectification, she let it slide. Which is why her decision to respond in kind to his provocations with some of her own is out of step with how most of her cohort have chosen to handle Trump’s broadsides.
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In the past 24 hours, the person who Trump once praised for taking “Europe by storm” has done three things that some US allies may have thought privately, but never said publicly. She said he lies and panders to enemies while turning on his friends. She also poked him by telling him to look at his own polling as the November midterms approach, no doubt aware that his popularity has hit new lows.
The backdrop for the schism – and why it’s not your average kerfuffle – is important. It came, somewhat unprompted, on the heels of an otherwise jolly G7 gathering where many leaders set aside their reservations about the peace deal Trump was about to sign with Iran. Trump left the G7, a group he’s been critical of in the past, describing it as “one of the most successful.”
The question of whether to appease Trump or play along is one that many US allies have agonized over. In a telling gesture, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was not invited to last week’s meeting in France, partly because some key European capitals were uncomfortable with his fawning over Trump.
There had been a previous Trump altercation with Meloni – over her defense of Pope Leo XIV in the face of his criticism of the war in Iran – but that seemed to dissipate quickly.
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At the G7, other leaders had seemed more likely to be the one to take on Trump.
France’s Emmanuel Macron has been a frequent sparring partner. Trump has called him publicity-seeking and said he’d soon be out of office. This being his last term, Macron has little to lose politically.
And yet the two men seemed to find each other again. Trump was openly delighted with Macron’s hospitality, first in the French Alps and then in the palatial residence of former kings where he decided impromptu, surrounded by the gold of Versailles, to put his signature to the memorandum of understanding with Iran. Macron was seated next to him.
There was also the UK’s Keir Starmer, who is desperately fighting for his political survival. He enjoyed a brief window of basking in Trump’s good graces and had extended a personal invitation from King Charles III that went down well. But when he equivocated about letting the US use UK air bases to attack Iran, Trump turned on him. Starmer’s cautious response earned him few plaudits back home.
In fact, given how unpopular Trump is in Europe regardless of one’s political tribe, many leaders are discovering that absorbing Trump’s attacks reflects poorly on them with voters.
Germany’s Friedrich Merz has sought to avoid direct confrontation. After telling a group of students that the US was getting humiliated by the Iranians, he was quick to try and make amends at the G7 by gifting Trump a football T-shirt, saying, “We’re on the same team.”
Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, the most recently elected among the G7, was still reeling from having politely sat through Trump’s joke three months ago about Japan’s attack on a US naval base in 1941, which ushered the Americans into World War II: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
Canada’s Mark Carney has probably come closest to challenging Trump publicly, but even he has stopped short of going full throttle with his neighbor, especially when they are both hosting this summer the World Cup, along with their trade partner, Mexico.
This is where Meloni comes in.
Since Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, many politicians across Europe have calibrated their responses to Trump around the assumption that confronting him publicly was a losing proposition.
The 49-year-old Meloni, who joked about coming into the G7 after quitting smoking and wearing a tie, is the first one to really test the theory that challenging Trump can win points with voters.
She is going to be tested electorally next year, and when it comes to her brand, being seen as “Trump’s puppet in Europe” isn’t a good look, according to Lorenzo Castellani, a researcher at Luiss University in Rome.
In response to Trump’s tirades, Italy’s foreign ministry late Friday scrapped a US-Italy business forum in Miami, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also set to attend.
That forum was intended to be the venue for Italy’s official signing of a critical minerals initiative dubbed the Pax Silica that the US is directing, according to people familiar with the matter.
Now it’s not clear when a deal might be signed. And Meloni is OK with that.
Even Paolo Zampolli, a close personal friend of Trump’s and his envoy for global partnerships, told Repubblica: “This is the official line and at the moment it indicates a clean break.”
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