Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed strong indignation over US President Donald Trump’s claim that she pleaded for a photo opportunity at the G7 summit. She stated that Trump completely fabricated the story. The Guardian reported this news. Relations between the two former allies had deteriorated last April amidst tensions surrounding the conflict involving Iran, the US, and Israel.
However, it appeared that their relationship was normalizing through several private meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit held in Évian, France. Yet, in a brief interview broadcast by the Italian television network La7, Trump remarked about Meloni, “She [Meloni] might be happy that I spoke to her. I didn’t need to speak to her. She pleaded to take a picture with me. She was so desperate to take a picture with me that, even though I didn’t want to at first, I eventually took it out of sympathy.” Trump’s comments have sparked intense outrage in Italy, with the country’s political sphere rallying in solidarity with Meloni. In protest, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled his scheduled visit to the US for next week. Announcing the cancellation on X, Tajani stated that President Trump’s serious and offensive remarks regarding Prime Minister Giorgia insulted all of Italy. In an Instagram video captioned “Italy and I never plead,” Meloni said, “Sometimes an immediate response is necessary. Donald Trump’s statement is completely fictional. Honestly, I am stunned. I do not know why the US President treats his allies this way. This is not the first time; I will simply say it is unfortunate that he does not show such firmness against the enemies of the West.”
Earlier, former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, stated that Italy does not deserve to be publicly humiliated in this manner. Additionally, Giovanbattista Fazzolari, Undersecretary to the Italian Prime Minister, stated that it is unclear whether Trump is deliberately damaging the historic relationship between the United States and Europe or doing so due to his own incompetence. His unwelcome behavior is making the United States increasingly unpopular across the European continent—a trend that harms not only Europe but the United States as well.
