A bitter diplomatic spat erupted between the United States and Italy on Friday, June 19, following President Trump’s claim.
He alleges that Italian PM Giorgia Meloni “begged” him for a joint photo at this week’s G7 summit in France.
The claim is promptly rejected by the Meloni, who denounced it as “completely made up.”
This was the first-ever face-off between the two erstwhile allies following the emergence of tension between them earlier in the year. Rather than patching up their differences, the two parties moved to elevate the dispute to a diplomatic crisis.
The claim was made at an Italian television show where Trump boasted that “Meloni wanted a picture with me so badly” and that he “wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
He also alleged that she was “probably happy” he talked to her because he “didn’t have to.”
Meloni, once seen as a close Trump ally, responded with an unusually sharp rebuttal.
“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.”
“There is one thing he should remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she declared in her social media post. The effects were instantaneous. The Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who was set to visit the U.S. from June 21-22, canceled his trip, saying on X that Trump’s “serious and offensive words offend all of Italy.”
2026-06-19 18:56:00
