Beyza Binnur Donmez
14 April 2026•Update: 14 April 2026
Italy’s Senate President Ignazio La Russa on Tuesday defended Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying suggestions she would accept direct attacks on the pope are misplaced following remarks by US President Donald Trump.
"If anyone thinks that the Italian prime minister would ever consider frontal attacks on the Supreme Pontiff acceptable, they don't know Italy and the prime minister, and they don't know the significance of the relationship between Italy and the Pope, who in this case is also American," he said, according to ANSA.
La Russa stressed the importance of ties between Italy and the papacy, saying critics "don't know the significance of the relationship between Italy and the Pope."
He also underlined that relations with Washington would continue.
"We will continue to be friends with the US on all matters on which we are in agreement. When we disagree, we have a duty to say so," he said.
He added there was no need to repair ties, saying: "There's no need to mend fences. President Trump has his own assessment."
The remarks came after Trump said he was "shocked" by Meloni’s positions, claiming she was "not helping" the US on NATO-related issues and discussions surrounding Iran.
"She doesn't want to help us with NATO, she doesn't want to help us get rid of nuclear weapons. It's very different from what I thought... It is no longer the same person, and Italy will not be the same country," he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Tuesday.
The controversy also followed tensions between the US president and the Vatican after Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV over his comments on the Iran conflict.
Meloni later reiterated her support for the pontiff, calling attacks against him "unacceptable."
