ROME (AP) 鈥� U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 attacks on Italy鈥檚 premier have had an unintended consequence.
After Trump questioned and claimed Giorgia Meloni European leaders rallied to Meloni’s side, thawing what had been a frosty relationship over her hard-right political roots.
It is the latest example of how the is helping to draw Europe closer together.
European leaders are finding more reasons to coordinate on defense, and foreign policy as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and from Russia. That leaves Trump, who has often preferred to negotiate with European countries individually, with less ability to do so, analysts say.
鈥淢ost of the mainstream leaders realize that Europe is getting squeezed between China and America, and so, if not now, then when?鈥� said Sudha David-Wilp, vice president at the German Marshall Fund. 鈥淭hey need to act as a bloc in order to maintain Europe鈥檚 place in the world.鈥�
This newfound European unity could be tested next week at a in Turkey.
European leaders rally around Meloni
Meloni’s spat with Trump has helped her strengthen ties with European leaders once wary of her party鈥檚 post-fascist roots.
A pivotal moment came in March when U.S. bombers headed to the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.
For years before then, France and Germany often kept Meloni outside the small-group talks that helped shape Europe鈥檚 response to major foreign policy crises. That persisted into 2026 amid disagreements over the Russian war on Ukraine, including Meloni鈥檚 rejection of a proposal by Britain and France to send European troops there following a possible ceasefire.
But Trump鈥檚 escalating attacks on Meloni 鈥� who called 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� 鈥� helped shift the dynamic, prompting European leaders to rally around her.
After all, they, too, have been on .
Meloni was firmly in the fold at a late June meeting in Berlin with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Poland. And she met the next day with French President Emmanuel Macron in southern France 鈥� the first bilateral summit since the pandemic.
Europe’s nationalist parties are adjusting
Even nationalist parties across the continent are recalibrating their stances because his trade policies and war with Iran are proving unpopular with voters.
In France, far-right leader Jordan Bardella recently blasted U.S. actions as 鈥渇oreign interference鈥� and described Trump as 鈥渆rratic鈥� and 鈥渆xtremely unsteady.鈥� Bardella had previously welcomed Trump’s brand of nationalism as a 鈥渨ind of freedom.鈥�
In Germany, leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party have criticized the U.S. military campaign against Iran. The co-leader of the party, Tino Chrupalla, said in March he was 鈥渆xtremely disappointed鈥� with Trump, whom he had viewed as a politician who would avoid new conflicts.
The changing rhetoric comes as elections approach, putting more focus on domestic issues.
鈥淭his pushes everyone to consider a European horizon more than an international one,鈥� said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst and professor at Rome鈥檚 LUISS University,
Beyond Europe鈥檚 biggest powers
These dynamics are playing out beyond the European Union, from the Arctic Ocean to the Balkans.
When Trump threatened to take Greenland by force, protests erupted in its capital, Nuuk, and in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Leaders across the political spectrum bristled at the threatened infringement of European sovereignty and feared it could shatter the already stressed NATO military alliance.
In Albania, a luxury development being planned that is linked to Trump鈥檚 family business has become a major political issue, drawing protests in June.
The political risks of close alignment with Trump were perhaps most clearly illustrated in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n 鈥� long regarded as Trump鈥檚 closest ally in the European Union 鈥� was voted out of office in April despite support from the U.S. president and prominent figures in the MAGA movement.
An analysis by the consultancy Maplecroft suggested that negative perceptions of the Trump administration may have weighed on Orb谩n politically.
Meloni鈥檚 balancing act
Though Meloni remains closely aligned with Trump on issues like immigration and security, she has long diverged from him on Ukraine. Her steadfast support for Kyiv has strengthened Italy’s ties with European allies and has become a key factor in their increasingly united front toward the U.S.
During their public spat last month, Meloni said her friendship with Trump came with a heavy political cost.
In her response to his accusation that she had 鈥渂egged鈥� to be photographed with him while at the recent G7 summit in France, she wrote on social media: 鈥淎s for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.鈥�
A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Trump is deeply unpopular in Italy. According to the survey, the vast majority of Italians 鈥� 83% 鈥� have no confidence in Trump鈥檚 ability to do the right thing regarding foreign affairs. His handling of a range of issues — including Iran, tariffs, and U.S. immigration policies — received a low level of support.
With a national election due by 2027 鈥� and possibly as early as next spring 鈥� Meloni faces mounting political pressures, including fallout from the unpopular Iran war and her former ties to Trump.
Voters across Europe could hold their own politicians accountable for the actions of an American president beyond their control, said Castellani, the political analyst.
鈥淎t a certain point, when voters see the price of gasoline rising because of a war perceived as distant, they ask Meloni for the bill, not Trump.鈥�
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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.
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