The US President told Italian TV station La7’s Aria che Tira show today that the Italian prime minister was “begging” him to take a picture with her at the Group of Seven (G7) summit this week.
At the beginning of the interview, Trump immediately turned the conversation to Meloni, asking “how is your prime minister? What did he say when he met me?” “She’s probably glad I talked to her,” he added. “I didn’t need to talk to her. I don’t know what to say. She was begging me to take a picture with her. He wanted a photo with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken her out, but I felt sorry for her.”
Meloni’s answer
The Italian Prime Minister responded to Trump’s statements with a video in which, among other things, she states that Donald Trump’s description of the meeting and his statements are completely fabricated to add: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
FLASH—MELONS: INVENTED TRUMP STATEMENTS, I’M APPROPRIATED: ITALY AND I NEVER BEG
— Ultimara.net (@ultimoranet)
Along with the above, as announced by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani’s upcoming visit to the USA is cancelled, precisely because of this current situation.
The Iran war brought a crisis to Trump’s relationship with Meloni
Until the Iran war, Meloni and Trump were good friends and she was the only European leader invited to his inauguration last year. However, the Italian government refused to give the US permission to use an air base in Sicily for raids during the war. Trump accused Italy of not helping and said Meloni had changed.
The prime minister also drew Trump’s ire by defending Pope Leo XIV after the president said the pontiff was “soft on crime” and “disastrous for foreign policy” following his criticism of the war.
After the summit, Meloni said her relations with Trump had not changed, that there had been no “counterclaims” and that the two leaders understood each other’s views.
During the G7 summit, Trump said in a conversation that also included European Council President Antonio Costa and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he had been “abandoned” by Meloni. When Costa asked if Meloni and Trump had gotten back together, the Italian prime minister said “we’ve always been friends.” Trump smiled as he said, “I was abandoned.” “No, it didn’t happen,” the prime minister immediately replied, laughing.
