talian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told US President Donald Trump on Saturday to look after his own popularity after he accused his NATO ally of trying to boost her domestic ratings by repairing ties with Washington.
The Italian premier had accused Trump on Friday of being a liar for alleging that she had “begged” him for a photo with her during this week’s Group of Seven summit in France.
He repeated the assertion on Saturday, misspelling her name as “Gigiorgia” as he posted on his Truth Social platform that “she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up'”.
Meloni responded, posting on Instagram in English: “President Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”
“My popularity is none of your concern,” she added. “I suggest you focus on yours.”
Meloni’s government, which took office in 2022, has seen public approval rise in opinion surveys to around 35 percent after a steady decline in 2025. Her Brothers of Italy party leads polls at around 28 percent, with the opposition Democratic Party at about 22 percent.
The US president, who was sworn in in January 2025, saw his approval rating tick up by one percentage point in recent days to 36 percent, still near the lowest levels of his political career, as public dissatisfaction over the cost of living grew less intense, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Italy’s first female prime minister told Trump on Saturday that “being his friend has certainly not helped” her popularity.Trump repeated earlier criticism of Rome for not allowing the use of US military bases in Italy during the war with Iran that the US and Israel began at the end of February.
Meloni responded: “Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected and that cannot be violated. As long as I am prime minister, Italy remains a sovereign nation.”
The remarks were a sharp escalation of a dispute that had already triggered anger in Rome and came at a moment when Trump has already unsettled European partners with his handling of the war in Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the United States, saying on Friday that Trump’s “grave and offensive” words toward Meloni “offend the whole of Italy.”
The backlash was notable because Meloni, unlike many European leaders, had invested heavily in personal diplomacy with Trump and had been viewed in Rome and Washington as one of his most natural partners on the continent.
She had spent months cultivating close ties with the US president while trying to reassure European allies wary of his second term.
Meloni had said at the end of the G7 summit in Evian that the atmosphere had been “very positive” and that there was “no friction” between Trump and other leaders.
