Meloni Rebukes Trump After He Claimed She Begged for a Photo

A sharp diplomatic row broke out Friday between Italy and the United States after President Donald Trump said in a radio interview that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had “begged” to take a photo with him during the G7 summit in France. Italy’s foreign minister then canceled a planned trip to Washington, and Meloni posted an angry response online.

Trump made the remark in a phone interview with the Italian TV channel La7. When the interviewer asked how Italy’s leader was doing, Trump brought up Meloni himself and said, “I don’t know what to tell you. She begged me to take a picture with her, she really wanted a picture with me. I could also have not done it, but I felt sorry for her.” He later added that she was probably pleased he spoke with her and that he did not have to talk to her.

In response, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was canceling his visit to the United States, which had been scheduled for June 21 and 22. “The serious and offensive words of President Trump toward Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hurt all of Italy. For this reason I decided to cancel my visit to the United States,” he wrote on X, adding, “No one is allowed to hurt Italy as the United States did.”

Meloni called Trump’s claims “completely fabricated” in a video on Instagram. “I am honestly astonished, I do not know why the president of the United States is behaving this way with his allies, and this is not the first time it has happened,” she said. She added that it was “a shame” he showed more determination toward Western and American enemies, and concluded, “One thing he should remember, I and Italy never beg.” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also defended her, saying he could not imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photo, “not even under threat,” and called Trump’s comments a “style failure.”