Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump on Saturday, intensifying an ongoing feud that erupted during the G7 Summit.
The dispute began earlier this week when the 80-year-old Republican president claimed that Meloni “begged” him for a photograph during the gathering of world leaders in France and questioned her staying power. This sparked a series of back-and-forth exchanges between the leaders of two nations that have long been close allies.
“President Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” the prime minister wrote in a message posted to Instagram on Saturday.
“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you,” Meloni added. “My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done.”
She also addressed U.S. military bases in Italy, likely referring to the Italian government’s decision to bar the U.S. from using a Sicilian base for combat operations against Iran in March.
“Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected, and that cannot be violated as long as I am Prime Minister. Italy remains a sovereign nation,” she wrote, adding: “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
The billionaire president’s approval rating remains unenviable, as he faces pushback over the Iran war and the economy, according to multiple recent polls. In a YouGov survey released this month, just 35 percent of respondents said they back the job he’s done.
Meloni was responding to a lengthy missive that Trump posted earlier Saturday on Truth Social.
“Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” the president wrote. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because 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.”
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up,’” he continued. “No thanks!!!”
The quarrel began when Trump was in Évian-les-Bains, France, attending the annual G7 summit, which brought together leaders from the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada. The gathering, held from June 15 to 17, featured bilateral and group discussions on numerous issues, including the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
On Friday, the Italian broadcaster La7 released a dubbed Italian transcription of an interview Trump conducted with journalist Daniele Compatangelo.
In the interview, Trump reportedly said of Meloni: “She begged me for a picture! She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for her!”
Meloni, the country’s first female prime minister and leader of the right-wing party Fratelli d’Italia, put out a blistering response shortly after the interview aired.
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said in a video posted on X Friday. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves like this toward his own allies. After all, it is not the first time.”
She added: “I can only say it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West and toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating. But there is one thing he should remember: Italy and I do not beg.”
The same day, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on X that he was canceling a planned trip to the U.S. this weekend, labeling the American president’s comments “offensive” to all of Italy.
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