Giorgia Meloni's response to Trump's lack of respect towards his allies

Donald Trump has once again crossed the line with his disrespect towards his European allies, something he doesn't usually do with Putin.

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In an interview with Fox News from Davos, the US president stated about his NATO allies: "We've never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them. You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."

As expected, this statement has outraged many Europeans of different ideologies, not only because the US president is lying, but also because he disregards the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers from US-allied countries who died fighting in Afghanistan, a war those countries entered after the George W. Bush administration invoked Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, requesting assistance from other NATO countries. It is the only time that article has been activated within the Atlantic Alliance. Trump seems to have forgotten this, amid a constant anti-European campaign that contrasts with his cordiality towards dictator Vladimir Putin, whom he treats with much more respect than his NATO allies.

Some allied governments have already responded to the US president. Yesterday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ideologically very close to Trump, issued the following statement:

"The Italian Government was astonished to learn of President Trump’s remarks claiming that NATO allies “stayed back” during the operations in Afghanistan.

Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, NATO activated Article 5 for the first and only time in its history: an act of extraordinary solidarity towards the United States.

In that large-scale operation against those fuelling terrorism, Italy responded immediately together with its allies, deploying thousands of military personnel and assuming full responsibility for Regional Command West, one of the most significant operational areas of the entire international mission.

Over the course of almost twenty years of commitment, our nation paid an unquestionable price: 53 fallen Italian soldiers and more than 700 injured during combat operations, security missions, and training programmes for Afghan forces.

For this reason, statements minimising NATO countries’ contribution in Afghanistan are unacceptable, especially if they come from an allied nation.

Italy and the United States are bound by a solid friendship based on shared values and long-standing cooperation, which is all the more necessary in the face of the many current challenges. However, friendship requires respect - a fundamental condition for continuing to guarantee the solidarity that forms the basis of the Atlantic Alliance."

I applaud Giorgia Meloni's statement. With these words, the Prime Minister of Italy is making clear something that some seem to have forgotten: that ideological affinity should never be an impediment to defending your country if an ally disrespects it as Trump has been doing with his European allies.

Let us recall that on January 21, also from Davos, Trump said: "What we have gotten out of NATO is nothing, except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia." The attitude of the US president is not that of a patriot, but that of a nationalist. The difference between patriotism and nationalism was already pointed out by Pope Saint John Paul II in a speech given in New York on October 5, 1995: "we need to clarify the essential difference between an unhealthy form of nationalism, which teaches contempt for other nations or cultures, and patriotism, which is a proper love of one's country. True patriotism never seeks to advance the well-being of one's own nation at the expense of others."

The current US president's disrespect towards his European allies is not only regrettable, but Trump also seems intent on sowing discord within NATO, an alliance that is especially important for the West today, given the situation created by Russian expansionism with its aggression against Ukraine and its threats against allied countries. The alliance between the US and its European partners is invaluable and the fruit of decades of effort by both sides, and it is sad to see how Trump's foolish and irresponsible attitude towards his allies is undermining these important transatlantic ties precisely when he should be strengthening them.

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Photo: Governo Italiano.