Trump said Meloni had repeatedly asked to take photos together at the G7
U.S. President Donald Trump claims that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked him “again and again” to take a photo with her during the G7 summit in France. According to him, she repeatedly asked him to take joint photos during the event.
“Her approval ratings in Italy are low, perhaps because she turned her back on the United States of America, a country that sincerely loves and defends Italy, when it came to preventing Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons (but NATO did the same!). She didn’t even allow us to use Italy’s runways, which creates major logistical difficulties—and this despite the fact that the U.S. allocates hundreds of billions of dollars annually to defend Italy and other ‘so-called’ NATO allies. Now that the United States has dealt Iran a military defeat, she wants to be friends with me again to “boost her approval ratings.” No, thank you!!!” the U.S. president also wrote.
According to Reuters, there were signs at the G7 summit that Meloni and Trump had stabilized their previously strained relationship, which had worsened this year due to the war in Iran.
Video footage from the event showed the Italian prime minister and the U.S. president engaged in a deep conversation while sitting side by side on a small sofa. However, Trump hinted that he had merely done Meloni a favor by speaking with her.
“She’s probably glad I talked to her. I wasn’t obligated to talk to her. She begged me to take a photo with her. She wanted so badly to take a photo with me. I wouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for her,” the US president said, as quoted by La7 in a brief interview after he himself asked a reporter about the Italian prime minister.
In response, Meloni accused Trump of fabricating a story about her.
Meloni said she was “stunned” by Trump’s comments, which are “completely fabricated.” She also criticized the White House chief for treating the West’s enemies with far greater respect than its long-standing, trusted allies.
Following the White House leader’s comments, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that he was canceling his planned visit to the U.S. next week.
“President Trump’s serious and offensive remarks directed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are an insult to all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States, scheduled for June 21 and 22,” he wrote.
Meloni was once a staunch supporter of Trump and became the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.
However, this year she criticized the U.S. president for his attacks on Pope Leo over his condemnation of the conflict in Iran. This, in turn, provoked a harsh rebuke from Trump, who accused Meloni of lacking courage.
Source: Donald Trump’s page on the social media platform Truth Social.
Earlier, Sánchez sided with Meloni following Trump’s attacks.
Macron also commented on the new conflict between Trump and Meloni.
