Washington: Relations between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have plunged into fresh turmoil after Meloni accused Trump of inventing a story that she had “begged” him for a photograph during the recent G7 Summit.
The diplomatic row erupted after Trump, speaking to Italian television channel La7, allegedly claimed that Meloni was eager to take a picture with him and that he agreed only out of sympathy.
“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,” Trump was quoted as saying in the interview.
Meloni dismissed Trump’s comments
The remarks triggered an immediate and unusually sharp response from the Italian Prime Minister. In a strongly worded statement, Meloni dismissed Trump’s comments as entirely false and said she was shocked by the US President’s behavior.
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up. I am frankly astonished,” Meloni said. “I do not understand why the President of the United States behaves this way toward his allies. One thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
Meloni further criticized Trump for showing greater leniency toward adversaries of the West than toward long-standing allies, calling his remarks disappointing and inappropriate.
Controversy escalated
The controversy has rapidly escalated into a broader diplomatic dispute. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that he was canceling a planned visit to the United States, saying Trump’s comments had insulted not only Meloni but the entire nation.
“The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend the whole of Italy,” Tajani wrote.
The fallout is particularly significant because it comes just days after both leaders appeared to have stabilized relations during the G7 Summit in France. Footage from the summit showed Trump and Meloni engaged in an extended conversation, fueling speculation that tensions between the two conservative leaders had eased after disagreements earlier this year over the Iran conflict.
Adding to the criticism, Giovanbattista Fazzolari, one of Meloni’s closest political allies and a key figure in her government, accused Trump of damaging decades-old transatlantic ties.
“It is unclear whether through intent or incompetence, Trump is undermining the historic relationship between the United States and Europe,” Fazzolari said. He warned that such comments risk making America increasingly unpopular across Europe and could ultimately harm US interests as much as European ones.
The latest exchange marks one of the most serious public confrontations between Trump and a major European ally in recent months, raising new questions about the future of US-Italy relations and broader transatlantic cooperation.
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