Italy’s Meloni says Trump ‘totally invented’ story that she begged him for photo
By Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer
ROME, June 19 (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused his onetime close ally Donald Trump of making up a story about him on Friday after the U.S. President told an Italian television channel that he had “begged” him to take a picture with him at the G7 summit.
Meloni said he was “surprised” by his comments, which were “completely fabricated.” He also chided him for treating the West’s enemies with far more deference than he did its old, established allies.
Underlining how much Trump’s comments angered the Meloni government, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that he canceled his planned visit to the USA next week.
The latest meeting at the G7 summit, just days after signs emerged that the two right-wing leaders were mending previously strained relations following tensions over this year’s war against Iran, marks a sharp deterioration in relations.
Video from the event in France showed Meloni and Trump deep in conversation as they sat next to each other on a small couch, but the US leader suggested he was only spoiling her by chatting with her.
“He’s probably happy that I talked to him. I didn’t have to talk to him,” Trump was quoted as saying in a brief interview by TV channel La7 after asking the journalist about the Italian prime minister.
“He begged me to take a picture with him. He wanted to take a picture with me so bad. I wouldn’t have let it go, but I felt bad for him,” Trump said, according to La7’s translation.
The channel did not air the original audio, only the dubbed version.
MELONI RESPONDED WITH SHARP EXPRESSIONS
Meloni responded: “Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. Frankly, I am astonished. I do not know why the US president behaves this way towards his allies; and this is not the first time.”
“I can only say that it is disappointing that the West and the United States do not show the same determination towards their enemies, treating their leaders with much greater tolerance,” he said, adding: “There is one thing to remember: neither I nor Italy will ever beg.”
Announcing the cancellation of his planned trip to the USA, Foreign Minister Tajani said on the X channel: “President Trump’s serious and aggressive words towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni disturbed the whole of Italy.”
MELONI’S TOP OFFICIAL SAYS TRUMP HAS DESTROYED HISTORICAL TIES
One of Meloni’s closest political allies, who usually avoids the media spotlight, attacked Trump in a previously unthinkable tone.
Prime Minister’s undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari said in a statement: “It is not clear whether (Trump) is deliberately or incompetently disrupting the historical relations between the United States and Europe.”
“By his inappropriate outbursts he has not accomplished the easy feat of making the United States unpopular throughout the European continent, damaging not only Europe but, above all, the United States,” he added.
Meloni was once a strong supporter of Trump and is the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.
But this year he criticized Pope Leo for criticizing him for his condemnation of the Iran conflict. This prompted a harsh rebuke from the US president, who accused him of lacking courage.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer, Editing by Peter Graff and Gareth Jones)
