Italy’s Meloni says Trump ‘totally invented’ story that she begged him for photo

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, 2026. Photo: Italian Prime Ministry/Handout via Reuters

Italian ‌Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused her one-time close ally Donald Trump of fabricating a story ​about her on Friday, after the U.S. President told an Italian TV channel ⁠that she had “begged” him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit. Meloni said she was “astonished” by his comments, which were “completely made up”.

She also chided him for acting with far greater deference to the ‌enemies of the West than he does towards old, established allies. Underscoring how much Mr. Trump’s comments have angered Ms. Meloni’s government, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced he was cancelling a ‌planned visit to the U.S. next week.

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The latest exchange marks a sharp deterioration in ‌ties, ⁠coming just days after signs emerged at the G7 summit that the two right-wing leaders ⁠had steadied a previously strained relationship following tensions this year over the war on Iran. Video from the event in France showed Ms. Meloni and Mr. Trump deep in conversation, sitting side-by-side on a small sofa, but the U.S. leader suggested he had ​merely indulged her by chatting with her.

“She’s probably ‌happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Mr. Trump was quoted as saying by La7 TV channel in a brief interview, after he himself asked the journalist about Italy’s prime minister.

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“She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with ‌me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” Mr. ​Trump said, according to La7’s translation.

The channel did not release the original audio, just a dubbed version.

Meloni hits back sharply

Ms. Meloni responded: “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, moreover.”

“I can only say it ‌is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence,” she said, adding: “There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.” Announcing the cancellation of his planned U.S. trip, Foreign Minister Tajani said on X: “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend the whole of Italy.”

Le gravi e offensive parole del Presidente Trump nei confronti del Presidente del Consiglio Giorgia Meloni offendono tutta l'Italia. Per questo motivo ho deciso di annullare la mia visita negli Stati Uniti prevista per i prossimi 21 e 22 giugno.

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) June 19, 2026

Top Meloni officials say Trump is destroying historic ties

One ‌of Ms. Meloni’s closest political allies, who usually shuns the media spotlight, struck out at Mr. Trump using a tone that would have ​been unthinkable beforehand. “It is unclear whether out of intent or ineptitude [Trump] is wrecking the historic relations between the United States and Europe,” Giovanbattista Fazzolari, undersecretary to the ⁠prime minister’s office, said in a statement.

“With his inappropriate outbursts, he has managed no easy feat, to make ⁠the United States unpopular across the entire European continent, damaging not only Europe but above all the United States,” he added. Ms. Meloni was once a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump and ‌was the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025. However, she criticised himthis year for lashing out at Pope Leo over his condemnation of the Iran conflict. That in turn prompted ​a blunt rebuke from the U.S. President, who accused her of lacking courage.

Published - June 19, 2026 06:18 pm IST