Trump wrote: “Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up’. No thanks.”
He said Meloni was doing “poorly in Italy” and suggested this was linked to her refusal to let the US use Italian “landing strips or runways” during the conflict with Iran.
Trump also revived his long-running complaint that the US spent heavily to protect “so-called” Nato allies, saying Washington contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Italy and others.
Meloni, in a blistering response on Instagram, accused Trump of “constant, unprovoked … senseless” attacks and said her popularity did not depend on her relationship with the US President.
Referring to her popularity, she said: “Being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you”.
She rejected Trump’s criticism over the use of US military facilities in Italy, saying they were governed by agreements that Rome had respected.
She added: “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
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 cancelled a planned visit to the US, saying that Trump’s “grave and offensive” words towards Meloni “offend the whole of Italy”.
Meloni, who leads Italy’s far-right Brothers Of Italy Party, had said earlier she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s original comments and accused him of showing more deference to the West’s adversaries than to his allies.
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.
She acknowledged, however, that she and Trump both had “quite strong characters”, and the pair were seen together several times at the summit – including during a meeting on a sofa after which Trump appeared to pat her shoulder.
In her latest comments, Meloni sought to draw a line under the spat, saying that Saturday’s response would be her last remarks on the subject.
Relations between the two had already deteriorated during the Middle East war.
Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from his criticism of the Pontiff’s anti-war views, accusing the Italian leader of failing to help the US through Nato.
– AFP