Trump: “Meloni begged me for a photo; I felt sorry for her.” The prime minister: “Italy and I never beg.”

US President Donald Trump, in a telephone interview with La7, spoke about his conversation at the G7 summit in Evian with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “She begged me for a photo with her. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” he said. “Italy and I never beg,” was Meloni’s reply.

Relations between Trump and Meloni had already become strained during the war that began after the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28. Tensions had emerged after Italy refused to allow some US aircraft to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily and after Meloni criticised Trump’s harsh comments about Pope Leo XIV.

Although their meeting during the June 15-17 G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, was widely seen as an effort to ease tensions, Trump’s latest remarks sparked a new diplomatic dispute.

In a telephone interview with Italian broadcaster La7, Trump said:

“How is your prime minister? She is probably happy because I spoke with her. I didn’t have to talk to her. She begged to have a picture with me. She really wanted that picture. I wouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for her.”

Meloni responded shortly afterwards with a video posted on social media.

“Some things require an immediate response. Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. Frankly, I am astonished. I do not know why the President of the United States treats allies in this way. Unfortunately, this is not the first time. What is even more regrettable is that he does not show the same determination toward the enemies of the West. One thing should be remembered: neither I nor Italy ever begged,” she said.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also condemned Trump’s remarks, describing them as “serious and offensive,” and announced that he was cancelling his planned June 21-22 visit to the United States.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called Trump’s comments “another rhetorical mistake that benefits no one,” adding that Meloni would never ask anyone for a photograph under any circumstances.

Opposition parties also criticised. Democratic Party lawmaker Lia Quartapelle called the remarks “deeply offensive and unacceptable.” At the same time, +Europa leader Riccardo Magi argued that Meloni should reflect on what he described as Italy’s excessive dependence on the current US administration.

The dispute marks the latest episode in a deterioration of relations between two leaders who had once enjoyed close political ties. Meloni was the only European leader invited to Trump’s inauguration last year. Still, disagreements over the war in Iran and Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV have widened the gap between Rome and Washington.