Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hit out at United States President Donald Trump after he made what she called “completely fabricated” claims, triggering a diplomatic clash between Italy and the United States.
The row began after the Republican leader claimed his Italian counterpart had “begged” him for a photo during this week’s G7 Summit in France.
“I didn’t need to speak to her. She begged me for a picture. She wanted one with me so badly. I wouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for her,” Mr Trump reportedly told Italian TV channel La7 during a phone interview.
Ms Meloni fired back in an angry video message shared with her seven million Instagram followers.
“Donald Trump’s claims are completely fabricated,” she said.
“Honestly, I’m stunned… I don’t understand why the US president is behaving this way toward his allies.”
The Italian leader compared Trump’s remarks to the way he speaks about Western adversaries, saying he seemed “far more accommodating” toward hostile leaders.
“Neither I nor Italy beg,” she said defiantly.
The dispute has now escalated into a full-scale diplomatic standoff between the US and Italy.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani quickly cancelled a planned trip to America this weekend. He had been scheduled to attend an Italy-US business forum in Miami and meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The serious and offensive remarks made by President Trump about Prime Minister Giorgia insult all of Italy,” Mr Tajani wrote on X.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto also defended the Prime Minister, dismissing any suggestion that Ms Meloni would ever plead for a photograph “even under threat.”
“Jokes like this help no one — not the USA, not Italy, and not the alliance,” he said.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio invoked the memory of American soldiers who died helping liberate Italy from fascism, calling Trump’s remarks a “painful wound” to the historic relationship between the two nations.
Giovanbattista Fazzolari, undersecretary to the Prime Minister’s office, accused Trump of “damaging the historic relationship between the United States and Europe” with his “inappropriate outbursts.”
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini declared: “Anyone who attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us.”
President Sergio Mattarella also called the Prime Minister to offer his support.
The public fallout marks a sharp collapse in what was once a close political alliance between the two leaders, who had bonded over shared nationalist-populist policies.
Ms Meloni was the only European Union leader to attend Trump’s inauguration and had visited his Mar-a-Lago estate weeks earlier, later saying the meeting exceeded expectations.
Trump had repeatedly praised her as “fantastic” and “incredible” in the months that followed.
But relations reportedly worsened in April after Italy refused to back the US-Israeli war in Iran, which Ms Meloni condemned as illegal.
Trump also sparked anger in Italy after attacking Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s anti-war stance, prompting the Prime Minister to call his remarks “unacceptable.”
