New Delhi, April 15 -- US President Donald Trump has launched a fierce public attack on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, expressing "shock" at her recent criticism of his remarks about the Pope and his foreign policy decisions. In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Trump said he had expected more strength from Meloni, stating: "I thought she had courage. I was wrong."

He also revealed a growing difference between the two leaders, claiming: "I have not spoken with her for a long time," and describing her as "very different from what I thought."

The clash follows Meloni's strong condemnation of Trump's comments about Pope Leo XIV. The Italian leader defended the Pope's role as a moral authority, saying: "The Po...