Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will not attend the United Nations General Assembly this week, an official confirmed, marking the first time in roughly 15 years that an Italian prime minister has skipped the annual high-level debate. The decision breaks with a long-standing tradition, though the 2020 gathering was held largely virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meloni cited a packed schedule after attending six summits in three and a half weeks, saying she has «several dossiers» to handle at home. Her absence also means she and President Trump will avoid another face-to-face encounter after recent international summits put their growing tensions on public display, despite what had once been a warm relationship.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani sought to downplay the significance of her absence. «We believe the United Nations is the basic instrument for achieving peace everywhere. Indeed we want a stronger role for the United Nations, we are present at many initiatives and we have an Italian candidate at the helm of the FAO,» Tajani said ahead of the summit, according to Italian outlet ANSA. «There is great attention from the Italian side.» Tajani is expected to speak at the conference on Wednesday.
The rift between Meloni and Trump has escalated sharply in recent months. In June, Trump said Meloni had «begged» him to take a photo at the G7, telling Italy's La7 television channel: «She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her. She's probably happy I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her.»
Meloni fired back forcefully. «I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence,» she said. «There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.»
Tensions first surfaced publicly when Meloni opposed U.S. military action against Iran and called Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV «unacceptable.» In July, the feud intensified in the lead-up to the NATO summit in Turkey after Trump posted «RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED» on Truth Social alongside a photo of Meloni looking at him.
Trump also criticized Meloni for failing to assist the U.S. without letting U.S. forces use Italy's landing strips and runways, calling it «a great logistical inconvenience.» He wrote in June: «She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).»
Tajani defended the transatlantic relationship in July while at a Sky TG24 event. «Trump's statements against Meloni speak for themselves,» he said. «We are convinced that transatlantic relations go far beyond individual statements.»
The tensions come as Meloni has distanced herself from the U.S. amid mounting domestic and political pressure over the widening Middle East conflict. Italy remains a key U.S. security hub in Europe, hosting nearly 13,000 active-duty American service members as of December 2025, according to Defense Manpower Data Center figures, with personnel based in Vicenza, Aviano, Naples and Sicily.
A senior administration official, when asked about Meloni's absence from the conference, highlighted President Trump's meetings with other heads of state and engagement with Gulf partners on Iran.
Meloni was notably the only European leader to attend Trump's 2025 presidential inauguration, a sign of the warmer relationship the two leaders once shared compared with Trump's ties to many other U.S. allies. That warmth has now given way to a bitter public clash that will not be on display in New York this week.