This Is Why the World Is Humiliating Trump: Biographer

Donald Trump’s longtime biographer thinks world leaders have switched their strategy on dealing with the American president.

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Author Michael Wolff said the 80-year-old president’s bitter spat with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proves that foreign leaders have begun to see the value in standing up to Trump on the world stage.

But Wolff thinks Trump’s swipes at Meloni aren’t really about the photos. Several European leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, have been openly critical of Trump since he waged war on Iran.

“I mean he’s obviously annoyed—actually, kind of furious—with the Europeans for their lack of support in the Iranian war,” he told Inside Trump’s Head co-host Joanna Coles. “And she, who has been regarded as probably his most reliable supporter in Europe, has also been among the European leaders to say, ‘No, we don’t want any part of this.’”

“So there is this annoyance factor, and with Trump, an annoyance factor almost necessarily must be expressed,” he continued. “He’s going to express it in that kind of meandering, free association, you-never-know-what-to-expect way that he does. It’s just part of what Trump is.”

Trump did just that, telling Italian broadcaster La7 on Friday that Meloni was desperate to get a photo with him.

“She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” he said. “She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”

Instead of keeping her head down, however, Meloni swiftly shot back in a scathing video statement that stressed, “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely made-up,” she said, speaking in Italian. “I am frankly astonished. I don’t ‌know why ⁠the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies, and it’s not the first time.”

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“I think up until quite recently, European leaders especially would go that extra mile not to be bothered by this, to contain themselves, to hold their own irritation, things that they—mature people—are theoretically capable of doing, and just hope for a better day,” Wolff said.

“I think that’s changed and I think we’re seeing this change right now. And I think what we’re seeing is an understanding that when Trump comes after you and when you respond with some backbone, you are the contrast gainer,” he added. “So the value is now in standing up to Trump, dismissing Trump.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even after Meloni debunked his claims, Trump doubled down on them in a Truth Social post on Saturday.

“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France. 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!),” he wrote.

Meloni didn’t waste time in hitting back at Trump, writing in her own social media post that Trump’s “constant, unprovoked attacks” were “senseless.”

“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” she wrote, explaining that the use of American military bases in Italy is governed by mutual agreements.

“In any case, my popularity is none of your concern,” she concluded. “I suggest you focus on yours.”