“I Thought It Would Be Easy,”
Relationship Worsened After G7 Summit
Meloni Refrains From Responding to Trump’s Provocations: “Unity Is Important”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been considered one of the closest allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, revealed, “I thought things would be easy with President Trump, but events unfolded differently.”
Italian Prime Minister Meloni and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by Yonhap News.
According to an interview released by the New York Times (NYT) on the 21st (local time), Prime Minister Meloni said, “I thought I shared similar views with President Trump on immigration issues and the concept of ‘woke’ culture (a critical term for the imposition of progressive values).”
Prime Minister Meloni stated that she has not spoken with President Trump for several weeks. When asked if she would contact him after the summer vacation, she replied, “Well, we’ll see.”
Until now, Prime Minister Meloni has been regarded as one of President Trump’s closest counterparts among European leaders. However, their relationship began to cool after President Trump made scathing remarks about the pope, who had criticized war.
In particular, their relationship reportedly deteriorated further following the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in France in June. At that time, President Trump claimed that Prime Minister Meloni had repeatedly “begged” him to let her take a photo with him.
Even after these comments, President Trump continued to make statements, but Prime Minister Meloni has refrained from responding publicly. She stressed, “I believe unity among the West is extremely important,” and emphasized, “Italy’s strategy is not determined based on personal relationships.”
She added that she dislikes “the idea of a submissive Italy, or an Italy that considers itself inferior to other countries,” and highlighted that achieving a “revolution of pride” is her goal.
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The Meloni administration will set a new record as the longest-serving government in Italian history on the 4th of next month. The existing record is 1,412 days, held by the second cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi. Prime Minister Meloni commented, “Getting here required the courage to stand on the uncomfortable side of history,” adding, “I chose to stand against the mainstream.”
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