Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused her former close ally US President Donald Trump of fabricating a story about her on Friday, after the US president told an Italian television channel that she "begged" him to take a photo with her at the G7 summit, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
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Meloni said she was "stunned" by his comments, which were "completely fabricated." She also chided him for acting with far more respect towards the enemies of the West than towards old, established allies.
Highlighting how much Trump's comments angered Meloni's government, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced he was canceling a planned visit to the US next week, the publication notes.
The latest exchange marks a sharp deterioration in relations that came just days after signs emerged at the G7 summit that the two right-wing leaders had managed to stabilize previously tense ties following tensions this year over the war against Iran, the publication writes.
Video from the event in France shows Meloni and Trump deeply engaged in conversation, sitting side by side on a small sofa, but the US leader suggested he was simply indulging her by speaking with her.
"She's probably happy that I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her," Trump is quoted as saying by channel La7 in a brief interview after he himself asked a journalist about the Italian prime minister.
"She begged me to take a photo with her. She wanted so badly to take a photo with me. I wouldn't have done it, but I felt sorry for her," Trump said, according to La7's translation.
The channel did not publish the original audio, only a dubbed version.
Meloni responded: "Donald Trump's statements are completely fabricated. I am, frankly, stunned. I don't know why the President of the United States behaves this way with his allies: moreover, this is not the first time."
"I can only say that it is disappointing that he does not show the same resolve towards the enemies of the West and the United States, towards whose leaders he instead shows much greater leniency," she said, adding: "There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg."
Announcing the cancellation of his planned trip to the US, Foreign Minister Tajani stated on X: "The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni insult all of Italy."
One of Meloni's closest political allies, who usually avoids media attention, criticized Trump in a tone that would have previously been unthinkable, the publication notes.
"Whether intentionally or incompetently, (Trump) is destroying the historic relations between the United States and Europe," said Deputy Prime Minister Giovanbattista Fazzolari.
"With his inappropriate outbursts of anger, he has managed to accomplish the not-easy feat of making the United States unpopular across the entire European continent, harming not only Europe but also, above all, the United States," he added.
Meloni was once an active supporter of Trump and was the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025.
However, this year she criticized him for lashing out at Pope Leo II over his condemnation of the Iranian conflict. This, in turn, drew sharp criticism from the US president, who accused her of lacking courage, the publication writes.
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