A simmering dispute between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni burst into the open this week, after Trump accused her of repeatedly pressing for a photograph and tied the falling-out to wider strains over Iran and NATO.
The exchange has exposed a strikingly personal rupture between Trump and one of Europe’s best-known right-wing leaders. Meloni had worked to present herself as a conduit between Washington and Europe as Trump returned to office, but that effort now appears badly shaken.
Speaking earlier to Italian broadcaster La7, Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” for a picture with him at this week’s G7 summit in France and said he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.”
Meloni forcefully rejected the allegation as “made up,” yet Trump sharpened the attack in a Truth Social post, insisting she had asked “over and over” for a photograph during the summit.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Mr Trump wrote.
Donald Trump first claimed Giorgia Meloni had ‘begged’ him for a picture
He went on to say Meloni was performing “poorly in Italy” and implied that was connected to her refusal to allow the United States to use Italian “landing strips or runways” during the conflict with Iran.
Trump also returned to a familiar grievance over NATO, arguing that the United States pours hundreds of billions of dollars into protecting what he called “so-called” allies, including Italy.
Those comments marked a significant intensification of a quarrel that had already provoked a furious response in Rome.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called off a planned trip to the United States, saying Trump’s “grave and offensive” remarks about Meloni “offend the whole of Italy”.
‘Stunned’
Meloni, who heads Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, said she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s initial accusation.
“I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” she said in a video posted on X.
She also suggested Trump has treated Western rivals with greater courtesy than longstanding partners.
“It’s a pity he doesn’t show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,” she said.
For months, Meloni had invested political capital in building a close relationship with Trump while trying to calm European allies uneasy about his second term.
Read more: Meloni turns from Trump whisperer to Trump critic
At the close of the G7 summit in Evian, she had described the mood as “very positive” and said there was “no friction” between Trump and the other leaders.
Yet the relationship had already begun to fray during the war in the Middle East.
Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV against his criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views, accusing the Italian prime minister of not doing enough to support the United States through NATO.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio described Trump’s latest remarks as a “painful injury” to Italy-US relations, while Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said such “jokes do not benefit anyone”.
