An ally in Europe was dubbed “unacceptable” by President Donald Trump as a war of words stretched beyond the walls of the Vatican.
As has often been the case, the commander-in-chief has found his administration an island unto itself while so-called allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mostly kept to the sidelines to await the benefit of Trump’s actions. Where it pertains to the Iranian conflict, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni drew extra friendly fire for piling on against the president’s critique of Pope Leo XIV.
Reacting to Meloni, the chief executive told Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, “She’s unacceptable. She’s unacceptable because she doesn’t mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance.”
After Trump deemed the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” while suggesting the College of Cardinals had elected him specifically “to deal with President Donald J. Trump,” Meloni remarked to the press, “I find President Trump’s words regarding the Holy Father to be unacceptable.”
“The pope is head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war,” she went on concerning the specific condemnation that stemmed from the president’s negotiation threat to end Iran’s “whole civilization.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has come out in support of Pope Leo after the pontiff was slammed by President Trump who called him ‘terrible’ https://t.co/HcsrGJw6rq pic.twitter.com/bHuJ4HPB34
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 14, 2026
Trump further criticized her for inaction on the Strait of Hormuz and said, “Do they like the fact that your president isn’t giving us any help in getting the oil? Do they like that? I can’t imagine that. I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.”
“No, she just says Italy doesn’t want to get involved, even though Italy gets their oil from there, even though America is very important for Italy,” continued the president. “She doesn’t think that Italy should get involved; she thinks America should do the job for her; she should not be involved.”
“They depend on Donald Trump to keep it open,” he argued, having called NATO members “cowards” and the organization a “PAPER TIGER” for keeping out of the fight to prevent a nuclear-capable Iran.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Italy ending its automatic renewal of an agreement with Israel, quoting Meloni as saying, “In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel.”
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry contended the agreement was merely a memorandum of understanding that “never contained any substantive content.”
For his part, the president continued to call out the head of the Catholic Church for not using his global platform to condemn Iran’s Islamist regime, its pursuit of nuclear weaponry, and the wholesale slaughter of its own people.
Trump posted on social media Tuesday, “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 15, 2026
Rising in defense of his prime minister, Italian Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani commented, “We are and remain staunch supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but this unity is built on mutual loyalty, respect, and frankness. We are accustomed to saying what we think because that is what serious people do. Until today, President Trump considered Giorgia Meloni a courageous person. He was not mistaken because she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks. And on Pope Leo XIV, she said exactly what all of us Italian citizens think. The Prime Minister, with the Government, defends and will always defend only and solely the interest of Italy.”
Noi siamo e rimaniamo sinceri sostenitori dell’unità dell’Occidente e solidi alleati degli Stati Uniti, ma questa unità si costruisce con lealtà , rispetto e franchezza reciproci.
Siamo abituati a dire ciò che pensiamo perché questo fanno le persone serie. Fino a oggi il…— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) April 14, 2026
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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