This is the awkward moment Donald Trump asked Giorgia Meloni: ‘You won’t be offended if I say you’re beautiful, right? Because you are.’
Yesterday, the US president made remarks to the press while standing alongside several international leaders, such as Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canada’s Mark Carney, in Egypt.
Among those present was Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni, who stood by him while he signed a peace agreement to conclude the Gaza conflict at the summit.
Partway through his speech, Trump acknowledged some of the world leaders gathered on the stage.
He began by mentioning Meloni, saying: ‘We have a woman – a young woman who is… I’m not supposed to say this as it often marks the end of a political journey. She’s an attractive young woman.’
He added: ‘In the US, calling a woman “beautiful” usually spells the end of your political career. But I’ll take that risk.’
He then directly addressed Meloni, asking if she would mind being described as beautiful, and expressed gratitude for her attendance, stating: ‘We appreciate it.’
Meloni responded with a smile and a nod as Trump praised her, while the remaining global leaders stood awkwardly, seemingly unsure how to react.
It is not the first time Trump and Meloni have expressed admiration for each other.
In an awkward moment, Trump turned to Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and asked: ‘You won’t be offended if I say you’re beautiful, right? Because you are’
During a gathering at the White House in August where leaders met to discuss the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump was heard on a hot mic complimenting Meloni.
While greeting her, he said: ‘How are you doing? You alright? You look fantastic.’
Later, Meloni returned the compliment by praising Trump for the way he handled reporters’ questions.
At the summit yesterday, another widely shared clip saw Turkish president Recep Erdoğan come under fire for paying Meloni a ‘backhanded compliment’.
While speaking to Meloni, he said: ‘I saw you coming down from the plane. You look great. But I have to make you stop smoking.’
Meloni, who was the only woman among the 30 male leaders, laughed off the remarks and replied: ‘I know, I know. I don’t want to kill somebody.’
French president Emanuel Macron, who was present for the exchange, also laughed.
Keir Starmer also suffered an embarrassing moment during the meeting. While on stage, Trump thanked countries that had contributed to the peace deal, ending with the United Kingdom.
He asked: ‘Where is the United Kingdom? Come here.’ Sir Keir then walked up to the podium and seemed ready to make a speech. But before he could say a word to the press, Trump turned his back on him and continued to make his speech.
Starmer, who looked bemused, then returned to his place in the lineup. However, Meloni appeared to find the awkward exchange amusing and even pulled a face.
The moment has gone viral, with some commentators saying that the prime minister suffered an ‘epic’ humiliation at the hands of Trump.
Meanwhile, at the summit, Trump and other mediators signed a historic peace deal to bring the war in Gaza to an end.
The meeting followed the release of all living hostages who were still being held by Hamas following its October 7, 2023, atrocities.
Trump shows off a signed document in Egypt on October 13, 2025. At the peace summit, the president and other mediators signed a historic peace deal to bring the war in Gaza to an end
Trump addressed reporters at the summit in Egypt while world leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis, looked on
Trump called the deal a success and said: ‘Phase two has already started. The phases are all a little bit mixed in with each other. You can start cleaning up. You look at Gaza, it’s a lot of clean-up.
He also added: ‘There was getting to be a period of time over the last few months when the world wanted peace and Israel wanted peace.
‘If you had gone on for another three or four more years, keeping fighting, fighting, fighting, it was getting bad, it was getting heated. So the timing of this is brilliant.
‘I said: “Bibi, you will be remembered for this far more than if you kept the thing going, going – kill, kill, kill.'”
Experts are now fearing that Donald Trump’s peace deal could already be at risk of collapse after Hamas failed to return only four bodies of the 28 people killed while in captivity.
Additionally, a new video circulating on social media has shown Palestinians being publicly executed by an unidentified group, sparking fears that Hamas could be attempting to cling to power, despite agreeing to some terms of the deal.
