Rome, Italy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of fabricating a story about her after he told an Italian TV channel she had begged him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit. Meloni said she was astonished by comments she described as completely made up.
Diplomatic dispute escalates
Meloni also rebuked Trump for acting with greater deference to the enemies of the West than toward long-standing allies. Reflecting the anger within her government, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced he was cancelling a planned visit to the United States next week.
Comments follow G7 meeting
The exchange marked a sharp deterioration in ties, days after signs at the G7 summit in France suggested the two leaders had stabilized a previously strained relationship following tensions earlier this year over the war on Iran.
Trump’s remarks to Italian television
Video from the summit showed Meloni and Trump in conversation while seated side by side on a small sofa. Trump, however, suggested he had merely indulged her by speaking with her.
According to La7 TV channel, Trump said: “She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her.” After asking the journalist about Italy’s prime minister, he also said, according to La7’s translation: “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.”
The channel did not release the original audio and broadcast only a dubbed version.
Meloni’s response
In a sharply worded statement, Meloni said: “Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up. I am frankly astonished. I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover.”