A public clash with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has highlighted a broader shift in Europe: Donald Trump, once seen by nationalist and far-right leaders as a political asset, is increasingly becoming a liability. At a Madrid gathering in early 2025, figures including Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orban presented themselves as bridges to Washington. Today, many of those same politicians are distancing themselves from Trump, or have already lost their positions.
The rupture with Meloni is the clearest example. She was the only European leader at Trump’s 2025 inauguration and spent months trying to preserve close ties, even as he attacked Europe over tariffs, Greenland and the war with Iran. But last week Trump said in an interview in Italy that Meloni had “begged” to take a photo with him at the G7 in France. Meloni replied in a video, “I and Italy never beg,” and Italy’s foreign minister canceled a planned visit to Washington. Trump had previously praised her as a “great leader,” but in April he also insulted her personally, saying she was “unacceptable” and claiming, among other things, that “illegal migration is killing Italy and all of Europe.”
The political cost of being close to Trump is now visible across the continent. Polling shows his ratings are negative even among some right-wing voters, including supporters of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. In Britain, 37% of respondents in a Wall Street Journal survey said Farage’s backing of Trump was a key reason for not supporting Reform, the most common answer. In France, Le Pen and her allies have pulled back as public opinion turned more hostile. In Hungary, Trump’s support did not save Orban, who lost the premiership by a wide margin despite a late visit from U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
The article says the war with Iran sharpened the split. It hurt energy markets and Europe’s economic outlook, and it was deeply unpopular on the continent. Leaders such as Spain’s Pedro Sanchez benefited politically from being openly anti-Trump, while Le Pen, Farage and AfD figures in Germany all criticized Trump’s judgment on Iran after initially trying to keep the relationship quiet. Meloni said the conflict destabilized the Middle East and was not the right way to stop Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Italy’s reliance on gas made the economic effects especially serious.
Despite the tensions, Europe still needs Trump, especially on Ukraine and limiting his support for Vladimir Putin. But the broader conclusion is clear: Trump has moved from being a political prize to a burden for many of his former allies in Europe.
