Italy’s foreign minister on Friday cancelled a planned visit to the United States following reported comments by US President Donald Trump that appeared to mock Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who was scheduled to travel to the US on June 21–22, said on X that “the grave and offensive words of President Trump… offend the whole of Italy.”
Meloni said she was “stunned” by Trump’s remarks made to Italian channel La7. According to a transcript provided by the broadcaster, Trump said Meloni “wanted a picture with me so badly” at the G7 summit and that he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.”
He also suggested that Meloni might be “happy that I talked to her, I didn't have to talk to her.”
Rejecting the comments, Meloni called them “made up,” adding: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.” She also questioned Trump’s behavior toward allies, writing on X: “I don't know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies.”
“I can only say that it's a pity he doesn't show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,” she said.
At the end of the G7 summit in Evian on Wednesday, Meloni had described a “very positive climate” and “no friction” between Trump and other world leaders present.
Meloni has positioned herself as a bridge between Europe and the Trump administration, but relations have faced strain during the Middle East war.
Trump previously turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from his criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war stance.
Meloni condemned those remarks as “unacceptable,” prompting Trump to respond sharply.
“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera at the time.
He also accused Meloni of failing to support the United States within NATO and has threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war.
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