“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

The interview was published the day after Meloni condemned as “unacceptable” Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV, after the pontiff’s repeated calls for an end to the war in the Middle East.

Trump told Corriere that it was she who was “unacceptable”, alleging she did not care if Iran had a nuclear weapon.

Trump said she did not want Italy to be involved in the war, which began with Israeli-US attacks on Iran, even though it gets much of its oil from the region.

Meloni, Italy’s far-right leader since October 2022, has been one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe and often seeks to act as a mediator between diverging US and European views.

Meloni’s allies and political opponents were swift to offer their support.

“We are and remain staunch supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but this unity is built on mutual loyalty, respect, and honesty,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on X.

He said that until now, Trump considered Meloni a courageous person, and “he was not mistaken, but she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks”.

“And on Pope Leo XIV she said exactly what all of us Italians think. The prime minister and the government defend and will always defend only and solely the interests of Italy,” he said.

Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, condemned Trump’s “serious lack of respect”.

“Our constitution is clear — Italy repudiates war,” she added in parliament.