Meloni’s Shock: “Senseless Words. Why Would Donald Attack Us?”

The incident unfolded late in the morning while Meloni was attending ceremonies in Foggia marking the 252nd anniversary of Italy’s financial police force. During an interview with Fox News, Rutte told the conservative American network that he understood President Donald Trump’s disappointment with European contributions, and stated that five hundred American planes had departed from US bases in Italy to support Operation Epic Fury.

When Meloni personally read Rutte’s words, she was stunned. As Il Giornale reports, the Italian leader found the statements illogical and senseless. If the Italian government had actually granted permission for the bases to be used in combat operations, she reasoned, then Trump’s repeated attacks on Italy in recent days would make no sense.

Before responding publicly, Meloni contacted the NATO chief directly to express her displeasure. She then coordinated with Defense Minister Guido Crosetto on a unified response. The Prime Minister’s position was unambiguous: Italy had only authorized technical and logistical activities, never operational ones, and only within the framework of existing agreements.

Meloni argued in discussions with her advisers while returning from Foggia to Berlin that Italy had consistently denied authorization for requests that fell outside these parameters. If matters were otherwise, she pointed out, Trump’s accusations that Italy failed to support the United States during the Iran war would make no sense.

Defense Minister Crosetto issued a sharp statement expressing surprise that Rutte would venture into terrain that had nothing to do with him. Operation Epic Fury was launched by the United States, not NATO, Crosetto noted. The minister said Rutte’s reconstruction transmitted a totally false message by confusing the types of flights that were authorized.

Crosetto emphasized that only activities of a technical and logistical nature were authorized, not kinetic operations, under procedures provided for in existing agreements. The Defense Minister declared he had no problem reporting to Parliament, aircraft by aircraft, exactly which flights had been authorized.

Hours later, NATO attempted damage control. A senior NATO official minimized the controversy, claiming Rutte had merely emphasized how allies including Italy had implemented existing bilateral agreements. After this course correction, the Italian Prime Minister’s office also sought to cool tensions, accepting the explanation that Rutte’s comments had been a well-intentioned slip meant to show Trump that Europe had contributed its share.

The controversy erupted just hours before an E5 summit scheduled for that afternoon in Berlin, where leaders from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland were gathering with Rutte joining by videoconference. The meeting was set to address Ukraine but primarily NATO matters, ahead of the Alliance’s annual summit scheduled for the following week in Ankara.

In Berlin, Meloni met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish leader Donald Tusk on the terrace of the Chancellery. The Italian premier reiterated that Europe must assume its own responsibilities in terms of defense and security and become a stronger and more solid component of the Atlantic Alliance.

The episode highlighted continuing tensions between Washington and its European allies over burden sharing and operational support, even as the war in Iran proceeds and pressure mounts on NATO members to increase their defense contributions. For Meloni, Rutte’s public statements risked undermining her domestic political position while offering no diplomatic benefit.

With information from Il Giornale