Mattarella to Trump: US and Italy must work together for peace on 250th Independence Day
Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent a message to US President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, stressing the essential need for the two nations to continue working together for peace, security, and prosperity.
The message
President Mattarella addressed his message to "the friendly American people" and to President Trump, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. He wrote that the celebration now belongs not only to the United States but has become a shared heritage of all who recognise the principles of freedom, democratic representation, and universal protection of human rights.
In a historical moment marked by unprecedented challenges for humanity, it is essential that Washington and Rome, also within the Atlantic Alliance and through participation in the United Nations and other multilateral forums, continue to work together in favour of peace, security and prosperity for their respective peoples and for the entire world.
Shared values
Mattarella stressed that the ideals of the 1776 Declaration inspired the political and civil path of the United States and of many other peoples on every continent. Those principles, he added, remain a reference point for a vision of international relations based on law, cooperation, and support for the international institutions born from the rejection of the tragedies of the last century.
Today's celebration belongs to the history of the United States but has over time become the shared heritage of those who recognise themselves in the principles of freedom, democratic representation and universal protection of the rights of every person, also in seeking a dignified and happy life.
Transatlantic tensions
The message arrived after weeks of friction between Rome and Washington. President Trump had repeatedly attacked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she "begged me for a photo, I felt sorry for her." Mattarella himself had telephoned Meloni to express solidarity, a gesture meant to signal that Italian institutions cannot be subjected to mockery by historic allies. The Independence Day message made no direct reference to the dispute, but Il Messaggero noted that it reaffirmed the pillars of the transatlantic relationship regardless of who occupies the White House.
A call for multilateralism
By invoking NATO, the United Nations, and other multilateral bodies, Mattarella implicitly pushed back against recent US criticism of international institutions. The message framed cooperation within those frameworks as the path to peace and security, echoing the post-war vision that gave rise to them.
