Trump and Meloni trade public attacks over G7 photo and Iran policy
Article excerpt
What started as a disagreement over a photograph at the Group of Seven summit this week has exploded into a full diplomatic row between President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, two leaders who were once politically aligned. On Saturday, Trump claimed on social media that Meloni had asked "over and over" for a photo with him at the G7, and he criticized Italy's lack of cooperation on Iran policy and NATO matters. Meloni responded with sharp language of her own, saying Trump's "constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless" and flatly rejecting his characterization: "Neither I nor Italy ever beg." The dispute has real consequences: Italy's top diplomat canceled a planned visit to the United States, signaling the rift has moved beyond rhetoric. The exact details of the photo episode remain contested between the two accounts, with Trump insisting Meloni pursued the image and Meloni denying she sought it at all. The clash underscores the fragility of Trump's relationships with traditional U.S. Allies, even those ideologically closer to his worldview.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday stuck hard to his claim that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “begged” for a photo with him at the G7 summit earlier this week, drawing a sharp retort from the Italian leader.
“These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” Meloni said after Trump’s latest broadside against her.
The two right-wing leaders, once politically close, have been at loggerheads since Trump on Friday told Italian television channel La7 that the Italian prime minister had “begged” him for a photo at the G7 summit earlier in the 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 his social media platform on Saturday, initially misspelling her name as “Gigiorgia.” He added that he isn’t interested in repairing relations.
“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity,” Trump added, blaming Italy and what he called “other ‘so-called’ NATO Allies” for not providing military support during the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Trump wrote.
Hit by the U.S. president’s attack during this week’s European Council meeting, Meloni fired back in a combative social media video, calling Trump’s statement “completely made-up” and insisting that “Italy and I never beg.”
On Saturday, after Trump’s latest blast, Meloni retorted on Instagram: “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.”
Meloni defended Italy’s decision regarding American military bases in Italy, saying “their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected.”
She concluded: “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
In reaction to Trump’s attack, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the United States scheduled for Sunday. Other Italian ministers reportedly will not attend U.S. Independence Day celebrations scheduled in Rome.
According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, Meloni said while leaving the EU summit venue in Brussels that she was convinced the dispute with Trump was not over.
The two leaders appeared together in several photos at the three-day G7 gathering June 15-18 in Evian, France, speaking in person for the first time since an earlier public skirmish in April, when the Italian prime minister called Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable,” prompting the American president to say Meloni was “no longer the same person” he once knew.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France, on June 17, 2026. | Italian government photo
At a press conference after the G7 summit, Meloni said she considered her relationship with Trump “unchanged” despite the earlier spat. “We have a strong enough character, we are both [leaders who] defend the national interest with determination, there is no need for us to clarify when we disagree on something,” she added.
In his post on Saturday, Trump returned to the dispute over the war in Iran.
“She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other ‘so-called’ NATO Allies,” Trump said.
The U.S. president mocked Meloni’s popularity in her own country, where she lost a key referendum in March, and linked it to her foreign policy posture.
“She turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!),” Trump wrote.
While the tone of this dispute between Trump and an Italian prime minister is unprecedented, it is not the first time he has misspelled the name of an Italian head of government. He endorsed the reappointment of then-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in 2019 in a tweet referring to him as “Giuseppi” before deleting and reposting the message.