ROME — Italy’s government rallied behind Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday, sharply rebuking U.S. President Donald Trump after he claimed she had “begged” him for a photograph at the recent G7 summit. The unusually forceful response signaled that one of Washington’s longstanding European partners was no longer willing to let Trump’s self-praise and criticism pass unanswered.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani responded by abruptly scrapping a scheduled weekend visit to the United States, denouncing Trump’s remarks as “serious and offensive” to both Meloni and Italy. The Foreign Ministry later said the business and science forum Tajani had been due to attend in Miami was canceled as well.
Meloni, meanwhile, released a video of her own, rejecting Trump’s account as “completely fabricated” and saying she was stunned that he would make up such a story about an ally.
“Italy and I do not beg,” she said bluntly.
Trump made the remarks in an interview aired Friday by Italy’s La7 television network. Although the La7 correspondent had asked him about Ukraine, Trump shifted the discussion to Meloni and their encounter at the recently concluded G7 gathering in Evian-les-Bains, France. Cameras had captured the two leaders speaking on several occasions, including during a private-looking exchange on a small sofa.
According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo opportunity. He added that he had no obligation to pose with her but agreed because he felt sorry for her, the network reported. La7 posted a dubbed version of the exchange online, rather than the original English audio.
Meloni is astonished and defiant
Trump’s posturing underscored how his alliance with Meloni – long seen as one of his closest friends in Europe – has frayed over his war in Iran, his tariffs against Europe and his complaints when anyone disagrees with him.
He turned on Meloni in April after she refused to support his war in Iran and stood up for Pope Leo XIV when Trump lashed out at the pontiff.
But Meloni’s strong response on Friday suggested she no longer fears Trump’s verbal attacks — attacks that could actually play in her favor in a country where public opinion of the American president has chilled, said Lorenzo Castellani, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss Guido Carli University.
“In some ways this was a favor to Giorgia Meloni, in the sense that she was accused until a few months ago of being a sort of Trump’s vassal in Europe,” he said.
In her video, Meloni said she was responding to Trump’s claims because “certain things deserve an immediate response.”
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”
It was an apparent reference to an interview Trump gave to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticized Meloni’s refusal to back the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Meloni didn’t respond publicly at the time. By Friday, it appeared she had had enough of his boasts and broadsides.
“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating,” Meloni said Friday. “But there’s one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg.”
The White House did not return an immediate request for comment on Meloni’s remarks.
Meloni had initially sought to build on longstanding strong U.S.-Italian ties when Trump began his second mandate, and had positioned herself as a “bridge” between Washington and the European Union. She was the lone EU head of state to attend his inauguration.
But relations have frayed over the U.S. war in Iran, which Meloni has said was illegal, and Trump’s position on Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports. Trump’s tariffs and strong U.S. support of Israel over its war in Gaza have been other points of contention.
Italian officials close ranks around Meloni
By Friday afternoon, solidarity for Meloni had poured in from across the government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s respected head of state.
“Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us,” posted Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio referenced the sacrifice of American troops in World War II in underlining the harm to U.S.-Italy relations caused by Trump.
“The thousands of crosses marking the graves of American soldiers who died to free us from Nazi-Fascist dictatorship did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties,” Nordio said on X.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he didn’t believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat.”
A ‘fantastic’ friendship frays
Meloni and Trump had gotten off to a strong start, and the two leaders are ideologically aligned on many issues. As the head of a far-right party, Meloni backs curbing migration and promoting traditional values.
Weeks before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, Meloni met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, a visit that she said went “beyond expectations.” It was, she said at the time, “an opportunity to confirm a relationship that promises to be very solid.’’
In the months after, Trump had praised her repeatedly, as “fantastic,” “incredible,” beautiful and a friend.
But stark differences emerged over Ukraine. More recently, Meloni sharply warned against U.S. threats to take Greenland by force, saying she didn’t believe Washington would go so far and that regardless Italy would never support such a move.
Meloni also received support from an unlikely ally in Europe: Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was on Friday asked about the back and forth on the sidelines of a European Council meeting.
“About Meloni, first and foremost, all my solidarity,” he told reporters. “Secondly, I not only say this publicly in a response to your question, but also in private during the European Council meeting I offered her all my solidarity against this attack that is not political or personal … I really don´t know how to qualify it.”
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Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
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