Italy’s PM says Trump ‘totally invented’ photo story
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused his onetime close ally Donald Trump of making up a story about him after the US President told an Italian television channel that he had “begged” him to take a photo with him at the G7 summit.
Meloni said he was “shocked” 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 words 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 taken at 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 claimed he was only spoiling her by chatting with her.
Speaking to La7 TV channel, Trump said in a brief interview after asking the journalist about the Italian prime minister, “He’s probably happy that I talked to him. I didn’t have to talk to him.”
“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: “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, whose leaders they treat with much greater tolerance, do not show the same determination against their enemies,” he said.
“There’s one thing he must remember: neither I nor Italy ever begs.”
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 was once a strong supporter of Trump and is the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.
