Trump mocks Meloni over photo op; PM counters, “Neither I nor Italy beg”

Italy reacted angrily on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly mocked Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, prompting the foreign minister to cancel a planned visit to the United States.

Meloni said she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s remarks, which were aired on the Italian channel La 7.

A written transcript of the phone interview, supplied to AFP by the network, shows Trump saying that Meloni “begged me for a picture” at the G7 summit this week and that he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her”. He also suggested that Meloni was probably “happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her”.

Meloni dismissed the comments as “made up”, adding: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.” She wrote on X: “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies.” She added that it was 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.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Trump’s words “grave and offensive” and announced the cancellation of a visit to the U.S. that had been scheduled for June 21 and 22. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio described the remarks as a “painful injury” to Italy‑U.S. ties, while Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said “these jokes do not benefit anyone”.

At the conclusion of the G7 summit in Evian on Wednesday, Meloni had spoken of a “very positive climate” and “no friction” between Trump and other world leaders present. She also noted that she and Trump both had “quite strong characters”. The two were seen several times together at the summit, including a meeting on a sofa after which Trump appeared to pat her shoulder.

Meloni has sought to position herself as a bridge between Europe and the Trump administration, but the relationship has strained during the Middle East war. Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV against the U.S. president’s harsh criticism of the pontiff’s anti‑war views. Meloni condemned Trump’s remarks as “unacceptable”, prompting the president to retaliate. “I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” the U.S. president said in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera at the time. He accused Meloni of failing to help the United States with NATO and threatened to pull U.S. troops from Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war.

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