US President Donald Trump calls Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “nice person” but criticizes her for failing to help in the conflict with Iran, his latest remarks in a diplomatic dispute that is straining bilateral ties.
Meloni was once seen as a close ally of Trump, but the relationship faltered last month when he told Italian TV channel La7 that she had “begged” him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit in France. She denied the claim and accused him of fabricating the story.
She had criticized him this year for lashing out at Pope Leo over his condemnation of the Iran war. That, in turn, prompted a blunt rebuke from the US president, who denounced her for refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump says his relationship with Meloni “became a little bad because she refused to help us” with Ian.
“She refused to get involved, so it soured my relationship with her a little bit. But I like her. I think she’s a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake,” Trump tells reporters in Turkey, where he was attending a NATO summit.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
