Among Europe’s current crop of leaders, few have seemingly had more in common with President Trump than Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Their close relationship has recently strained as Meloni criticized Trump’s remarks about the pope and Italy reportedly shying away from fully supporting the U.S. mission in Iran.

In a recent interview with Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Trump called Meloni “unacceptable” and stated he was “shocked” by her stance. The dispute intensified after Meloni condemned Trump’s recent remarks targeting Pope Leo XIV, which she labeled “unacceptable.” Trump countered that “she is the one who is unacceptable.”

Trump also took to Truth Social to launch a scathing rebuke of the Vatican’s call for Middle Eastern de-escalation. In his viral post, he described Pope Leo XIV as “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” warning him to “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.” He accused the first American pope of “catering to the Radical Left” at the expense of global security.

During the same interview with Corriere della Sera, Trump reiterated his criticism of Pope Leo, stating the pontiff “has no idea what’s going on in Iran” and “doesn’t understand” what is at stake.

Reports indicate a significant shift has emerged in relations between world leaders after Meloni, Italy’s leader since October 2022, was once one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe and often acted as a mediator between diverging U.S. and European views.

Trump stated they had not spoken this month, “not in a long time,” adding: “She doesn’t help us with NATO. She doesn’t want to help get rid of a nuclear-weaponed Iran. Very sad … She’s much different than I thought.” He further described the NATO military alliance as a “paper tiger” and criticized Europe for not being “willing to fight for the Hormuz Strait, which is where they get their energy.” Trump concluded that Meloni was “not the same person. Italy is not the same country. Immigration is killing Italy and all of Europe.”