US President Donald Trump deepened his feud with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, doubling down on claims that she insisted on a photo with him at the G7 summit in France this week.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on social media of a leader who has been a key European ally.
He claimed that Meloni’s popularity was plummeting, suggesting it was a result of her refusing to help the US in its conflict against Iran.
But the Italian leader was quick to rebuff Trump’s declarations, suggesting his argument was nonsense and advising the president to direct his attention toward his own popularity rather than hers.
“President Trump, these constant and gratuitous attacks are senseless,” Meloni wrote on Facebook later Saturday. She added that her friendship with the US leader has never contributed to her popularity, as the president claimed.
The right-wing leader said her popularity endures because of her “ability to defend Italy’s national interests,” which, she said, is why she denied the US access to Italian military bases earlier this year.
“In any case, my popularity is none of your concern,” Meloni added. “I’d suggest you focus on yours.”
The spat is the latest dip in the deteriorating relationship between the once-close leaders and a further fracture between the US and its European allies, coming after tentative signs of repair at the G7 summit this week in France.
Trump’s remarks come after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Friday he was canceling a planned trip to the United States, where he was due to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the heated exchange.
In an interview with Italy’s La7 TV this week, Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the summit, and he obliged because he felt sorry for her, according to a dubbed Italian translation posted by the outlet.
“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,” he said.
Meloni refuted the comments in a sharply worded video posted Friday morning, saying they deserved “an immediate response.”
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I’m frankly shocked. I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way towards his own allies, and it’s not the first time it’s happened,” she said in the video posted on X.
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“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States, with leaderships with which he instead appears much more accommodating,” she continued.
“But you must remember one thing: Italy and I never beg,” Meloni said.
Meloni has found support in the Italian media. One far-right outlet on Saturday carried the front-page headline: “Trump is an a**hole.”
CNN has reached out to the White House and US State Department for comment.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Trump had renewed his criticism of Meloni, saying, “I don’t want her as a fan because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the strait,” a reference to a perceived lack of support during the Iran war.
It is not the first row between Trump and Meloni. Earlier this year, Meloni called Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo XIV over his opposition to the war against Iran “unacceptable.” Trump then criticized Meloni and Italy more broadly for what he said was a failure to sufficiently help the US in the conflict, which European leaders have largely tried to stay out of.
Meloni has been widely regarded as Trump’s staunchest Western European ally, although this relationship has been strained by her refusal to participate in the war with Iran.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, populist and conservative Meloni captured the attention of the president and his advisers, and she was the only European leader to attend his second inauguration.
The two have overlapped on issues such as strict immigration policies and national sovereignty.
Trump has been known in the past to shower Meloni with strong personal praise, contrasting with his hostile approach to other European leaders.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
