Meloni and Trump: A very public Italian-American failure that will be very difficult to fix

Last Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News that about 500 US warplanes had departed from US military bases in Italy to support the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, called “Operation Epic Fury”. It was part of what he described as broad European support in thousands of flights across the continent.

Rome did not take it well.

Italy’s defense ministry called Ruth’s account “false” and “absolutely misleading”, saying it authorized only technical and logistical flights, not combat, and rejected any claims that crossed that line.

A NATO spokesman later explained that Ruth wanted to highlight how allies, including Italy, had respected existing bilateral agreements.

These comments sparked political friction in Italy, as Meloni’s government repeatedly said it would not allow the use of Italian territory to take direct military action against Iran.

For Meloni, who has had a tough few months following her defeat in the recent constitutional referendum and faces next year’s election, some big questions remain.

How does she position herself on the global political spectrum? What about her uneasy alliance with France’s Emmanuel Macron, her long political ‘independence’, but now becoming essential to her position? And most importantly, do she and Trump ever lie?

“This could be a tough situation to turn,” said Gianni Riotta, author and vice chairman of the U.S.-Italy Council.

“Meloni’s ability to bridge the gap seems like an illusion now, she can’t stand between Europe and America,” he told the BBC.

“She tried to please both sides, in Ukraine, on the tariff. Then the Pope broke it: she had to support him, and Trump will not accept this. Trump had a friend or enemy attitude in New York from the days of his property, you are with me or against me, and after this understanding was broken, he pushed further, and Meloni played her image of a strong woman.”

No one in Rome’s diplomatic circles wanted a complete rupture.

Reports earlier this week indicated that several government ministers were ready to skip the American Embassy’s Independence Day reception at Villa Taverna, this year it is closer to July 2, regardless of who is not expected to attend in collaboration with Meloni.

After that, that feeling softened. “I’m going to walk with my head held high,” Tajani said, adding that the prime minister’s allies suggested that the boycott talk would be muted: “Everyone is free to do what they want.”

But the real test will come early next month at a NATO summit where Trump and Meloni will be in the same room for the first time since the G7.