Prime Minister of Italy was one of Donald Trump’s first great allies in Europe, but the relationship between the two has seriously worsened
Statements by US President Donald Trump to an Italian media outlet about the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, triggered a new diplomatic incident.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced this Friday that he would cancel a planned trip to the United States, where he had planned to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in response to Trump’s statements. Tajani called the US president’s statements “offensive”, while Meloni said they were “completely fabricated”.
This is the latest episode in the worsening of the relationship between the two leaders, who previously maintained a close relationship, and represents yet another fracture between the US and its European allies, emerging after signs of rapprochement at this week’s G7 summit in France.
In an interview with the Italian channel La7 TV, Trump said that Meloni had “begged” for a photo during the summit and that he agreed because he felt sorry for her, according to a translation dubbed into Italian by the channel.
Meloni refuted the comments in a video published on Friday morning, saying they deserved “an immediate response.”
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly shocked. I don’t know why the President of the United States behaves this way towards his own allies, and this is not the first time this has happened,” she said on .
“I can only say that it is a shame that he does not have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States, with leaders before whom he appears, on the contrary, much more complacent”, he continued.
“But you have to remember one thing: Italy and I never beg,” Meloni added.
Tajani had planned to travel to the USA at the beginning of next week to participate in the Italy-US Forum on Business, Investment, Science and Innovation, in Miami. According to a statement from the US State Department, Rubio would meet with his Italian counterpart “to promote bilateral cooperation between the US and Italy on economic security and critical minerals.”
CNN has reached out to the White House and the US State Department for comment.
This is not the first time that Trump and Meloni have clashed. Earlier this year, the right-wing Italian leader called Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable” due to his opposition to the war against Iran. Trump responded later by criticizing Meloni and Italy more broadly for what he considered to be insufficient Italian aid to the US in that conflict.
