Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she lashed out at him for criticising the Pope.
The US President said he was 'shocked' by Meloni and had expected her to be more courageous, delivering a strong public rebuke to one of his closest European partners.
Meloni had been a vociferous supporter of Trump, but she has strongly criticised his decision to go to war with Iran, and on Monday, denounced his tirades against the pope as 'unacceptable'.
In his latest spat with a world leader, the President branded Pope Leo XIV 'weak on crime' and 'terrible for foreign policy' after he spoke out against the Iran war - then offended Christians around the world by posting an image of himself as Jesus on his social media platform Truth Social.
Pope Leo swiped back that he had ‘no fear’ of Trump before Meloni said: 'The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war.'
Trump hit out at the Italian premier in an interview with Corriere della Sera, claiming he has not spoken with Meloni 'for a long time' and she was 'very different from what I thought'.
He also accused her of not caring if Iran has nuclear weapons which 'would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance' and denounced her for refusing to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
'It’s her who’s unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance, he said.
He added: 'I'm shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong.'
Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, accusing her of not caring if Iran has nuclear weapons
The US President said he was 'shocked' by Meloni and had expected her to be more courageous, delivering a strong public rebuke to one of his closest European allies
The White House declined to comment on the quotes. Meloni's office also declined to comment.
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer and Nato for their failure to support his war against Iran.
But the criticism of Meloni marks a dramatic change in their relationship with the Italian the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.
Only last month he told Corriere della Sera that Meloni was 'a great leader', but on Tuesday he accused her of failing to back US efforts over energy security and Iran, and said Italy wanted America 'to do the job for her'.
Asked about her condemnation of his comments on Pope Leo, he said: 'She is the one who is unacceptable, because she does not care whether Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow Italy up in two minutes if it had the chance.'
Meloni had hoped that her close relationship with Trump would strengthen her standing at home and abroad, but instead it risks becoming a political liability.
Some 66 per cent of Italians now hold a negative view of the US leader and pollsters say Meloni's ties to the White House may have contributed to her defeat last month in a referendum on judicial reform.
The war in Iran has pushed up energy prices in Italy, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas imports.
'They (Italy) pay the highest energy costs in the world and are not even ready to fight for the Strait of Hormuz... They depend on Donald Trump to keep it open,' Trump said.
Meloni has risked the wrath of Trump with her strong criticism of the war in Iran and last month US bombers were denied access to its Sigonella air base in Sicily.
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto is said to have made the decision, when he learned some US warplanes planned to land in Sigonella without consulting the authorities.
Meloni criticised Donald Trump after he lashed out at the Pope before posting an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus
'Italy is certainly not considering going to war with Iran,' Crosetto emphatically announced earlier in March.
He continued: 'I don't think there will ever be Italian soldiers or planes capable of bombing Iran; this seems clear and obvious to me,' before adding: 'Not only is it constitutionally impossible, but there isn't even the will.'
Washington would be able to use Italian bases 'only after explaining what it intends to use them for and only after authorisation from the Italian government', he said.
Meloni condemned the war as 'outside the scope of international law', while also acknowledging the threat the Islamic Republic poses to regional security.
Her shift in tone was striking from a politician who has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most reliable US allies.
On Tuesday, Trump faced further condemnation for having 'now crossed the line' after posting an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure while hitting out at the Pope.
The Pope said on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against war, telling Reuters: 'I don't want to get into a debate with him.'
Speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where Leo is starting a 10-day tour to four African countries, he added: 'I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
'I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.
'Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way.'
Trump earlier posted an AI-generated image showing himself as a robed Christ, curing an ill man while surrounded by adoring figures including a nurse and a soldier. Fallen US servicemen could also be seen ascending to heaven in the style of a Renaissance painting.
Christian figures on both sides of the Atlantic were left incensed - including Massimo Faggioli, a theologian and expert on the papacy based at the Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin, who said: 'There is no ambiguity about the situation now.'
Donald Trump is angry at Giorgia Meloni for her opposition to the Iran war and her failure to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz (pictured)
Mr Faggioli compared the comments to efforts by the leaders of Germany and Italy during the Second World War to draw the late Pope Pius XII to support their causes, adding: 'Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.'
UK Catholic commentator Austen Ivereigh said Trump's 'remarkable' move could mean 'the end' for his presidency, adding: 'He's now crossed the line. This is a deeply unpopular war, but I think what he's doing now is tipping into a level of messianism and narcissism, which I think everybody is now recognising as deeply troubling.'
He also told Premier Christian News: 'The job of the Pope is, in a sense, to defend the integrity of the Gospel against those who would choose to instrumentalise it.'
The Most Reverend Richard Moth, the new Archbishop of Westminster, also backed the Pope, saying: 'We pray for Pope Leo XIV as he starts his Apostolic Journey in Africa. We continue to support his unstinting calls for peace and reconciliation.'
American pastor Mark Burns, Trump's former spiritual adviser, revealed on Times Radio that he told the President to delete the image because it was a 'step too far' and 'so clearly it offends millions of Christians and Catholics all over the world'.
British Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, who was in the papal conclave that elected Leo XIV, told BBC Newsnight that he thought the post was 'just quite frankly bizarre'.
He added: 'People have often said that they think that it's blasphemous. I think that implies an attack on Christianity, which President Trump I don't think intended, but it does show a complete misunderstanding of what Christianity is about.'
Asked about Mr Trump's explanation that the image was 'supposed to be me as a doctor making people better', Cardinal Radcliffe added: 'I find it very strange. I've met many doctors in my life and none of them have glowed quite like that.'
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC: 'I thought it was a preposterous picture. It should have been, at best, a funny joke that somebody else had done. It was very bizarre seeing the President tweet it himself. I'm not surprised that it's been deleted.'
Father Gary Donegan, a prominent Catholic priest based in Belfast, told the Irish Times that the post was 'verging on blasphemy' as the 'wannabe King mocks Christ', as he insisted anyone in the US 'that represents Jesus should call him out over this'.
He added: 'I've had the privilege of being in the last 35 years at the bedside of hundreds of sick and dying including seven literally dying in my arms. It is the most privileged of moments. As I anointed the sick, it's a profoundly sacred and holy experience.'
Father Donegan said he would pray for Americans, adding: 'Sadly attacking the Holy Father and depicting himself as Our Lord blessing the sick is indeed sick in itself.'
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, was 'disheartened', saying: 'Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.'
Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi said the AI image was 'crazy' and as a Catholic he thought it was 'blasphemous'. He also told Sky News it was 'ridiculous', 'silly' and the President had 'destroyed his credibility' by posting the picture.
Even Iran came to the Pope's defence, with president Masoud Pezeshkian writing on X: 'I condemn the insult to Your Excellency... and declare that the desecration of Jesus is not acceptable to any free person.'
