During a recent summit in Egypt, former U.S. President Donald Trump found himself in the spotlight after making a comment about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In front of a gathering of global leaders, including Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canada’s Mark Carney, Trump remarked on Meloni’s appearance, saying, “You won’t be offended if I say you’re beautiful, right? Because you are.” This comment was made as he prepared to sign a peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza.

In the midst of his speech, Trump took a moment to acknowledge the world leaders present. Turning his attention to Meloni, he said, “We have a woman—a young woman who is… I’m not allowed to say it because usually, it’s the end of your political career if you say it. She’s a beautiful young woman.” He went on to add, “Now, if you use the word ‘beautiful’ in the United States about a woman, that’s the end of your political career. But I’ll take my chances.”

Trump then directly addressed Meloni, asking if she minded being referred to as beautiful. He also thanked her for attending the summit, adding, “We appreciate it.” Meloni responded with a smile and a nod, while other leaders on stage seemed to maintain their composure, avoiding any visible reactions. This exchange is not the first instance of mutual admiration between Trump and Meloni, highlighting their cordial relationship on the international stage.

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 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 .