Facing barbs and pressure from Trump, Europe’s leaders close ranks

ROME (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Italian prime minister have led to unintended consequences.

After Trump is questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni He bent down to get her attention, European leaders sided with Meloni, thawing a relationship that had been frosty due to his far-right political roots.

It is the latest example of how. often divisive American president It helps bring Europe closer together.

European leaders find more reasons to coordinate on defense, tariffs While facing wars in Ukraine and Iran and a growing trade deficit with China, foreign policy and threats from Russia. Analysts say this makes Trump, who often prefers to negotiate with European countries individually, less able to do so.

“Most mainstream leaders realize that Europe is caught between China and America – if not now, when?” Sudha David-Wilp, vice president of the German Marshall Fund, said: “To preserve Europe’s place in the world, they need to act as a bloc.”

This newfound European unity could be tested at a meeting next week. NATO summit In Türkiye.

European leaders rally around Meloni

Meloni’s spat with Trump helped him strengthen ties with European leaders who were once wary of his party’s post-fascist roots.

An important moment came in March he wouldn’t let US bombers headed to the Middle East to use the base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.

In previous years, France and Germany had excluded Meloni from the small group talks that helped shape Europe’s response to major foreign policy crises. This continued into 2026 amid disagreements over Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Meloni’s rejection of a British and French proposal to send European troops there after a possible ceasefire.

But Trump’s attacks on caller Meloni are increasing Criticism from Trump to Pope Leo “unacceptable” – helped change the dynamic and caused European leaders to rally around him.

After all, they were there too On the receiving end of Trump’s barbs.

Meloni was firmly on the sidelines at a meeting with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Poland in Berlin in late June. The next day, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in southern France, the first bilateral summit since the pandemic.

Europe’s nationalist parties adapt

Even nationalist parties on the continent once aligned with Trump They are recalibrating their stances because their trade policies and the war with Iran are not liked by voters.

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella recently called US actions “foreign intervention” and called Trump “indecisive” and “extremely unstable.” Bardella has previously welcomed Trump’s brand of nationalism as a “wind of freedom.”

Leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party in Germany criticized the US military action against Iran. The party’s co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, said in March that he was “extremely disappointed” in Trump, whom he saw as a politician who would avoid new conflicts.

The changing discourse comes as there is a greater focus on domestic issues as elections approach.

“This forces everyone to think about a European horizon rather than an international horizon,” said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst and professor at Rome’s LUISS University.

Beyond Europe’s greatest powers

These dynamics also have an impact beyond the European Union, from the Arctic Ocean to the Balkans.

When Trump threatened to take Greenland by force, protests broke out in the capital Nuuk and the Danish capital Copenhagen. Leaders across the political spectrum were outraged by the threat of a violation of European sovereignty and feared it could tear apart the already strained NATO military alliance.

In Albania, a planned luxury project linked to Trump’s family business became a major political issue and sparked protests in June.

The political risks of close cooperation with Trump were perhaps most clearly seen in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, long considered Trump’s closest ally in the European Union, was ousted in April despite support from the US president and leading figures in the MAGA movement.

An analysis by consultancy Maplecroft suggested that negative perceptions of the Trump administration may have weighed on Orbán politically.

Meloni’s balancing act

Although Meloni continues to cooperate closely with Trump on issues such as immigration and security, he has long differed from Trump on the Ukraine issue. His determined support for Kiev strengthened Italy’s ties with its European allies and became a key factor in the increasingly united front against the United States.

During their public debate last month, Meloni said his friendship with Trump came at a heavy political cost.

Responding to the accusation that she had “begged” to have a photo taken with him at the recent G7 summit in France, he wrote on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly hasn’t helped that, and it doesn’t depend on my relationship with you either.”

A recent Pew Research Center poll found that Trump is very unpopular in Italy. According to the poll, a majority of Italians (83%) do not trust Trump’s ability to do the right thing on foreign affairs. His handling of a range of issues, including Iran, tariffs and U.S. immigration policies, has received low levels of support.

With national elections due in 2027 and possibly next spring, Meloni faces increasing political pressures, including the unpopular Iran war and the effects of his old ties to Trump.

Political analyst Castellani said voters across Europe could hold their own politicians responsible for the American president’s actions beyond their control.

“At a certain point, when voters see gas prices rising due to a war perceived as distant, they put Meloni, not Trump, to foot the bill.”

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McNeil reported from Brussels. AP writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Justin Spike in Budapest contributed to this report.