Continuing a sharp exchange of words over a photograph, U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (June 20, 2026) said that Italian ‌Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “asked, over and over, for a picture” with him at the G7 Summit in France last week.

The U.S. President also lashed out at the Italian PM, saying she “wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up’, after the United States defeated Iran militarily”

Mr. Trump’s rebuke comes a day after Ms. Meloni accused her one-time close ally of fabricating a story ​about her, claiming ⁠that she had “begged” him to take a photo with her at the G7 summit. Ms. Meloni, in a video post on social media, said she was “astonished” by his comments, which were “completely made up”.

The latest exchange marks a sharp deterioration in ‌ties, ⁠coming just days after signs emerged at the G7 Summit that the two right-wing leaders ⁠had steadied a previously strained relationship following tensions this year over the war on Iran. 

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump 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 (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”

“She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other “so-called” NATO Allies,” he added.

Accusing her of extending a hand of friendship after the latest development in the U.S.-Iran deal, Mr. Trump signed of his latest message with “No thanks!!!”.

The controversy stems from Mr. Trump’s interaction with an Italian TV channel after the Summit in France. “She’s probably ‌happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” he was quoted as saying by La7 TV channel in a brief interview, after he himself asked the journalist about Italy’s prime minister.

“She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with ‌me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” Mr. ​Trump said, according to La7’s translation. The channel did not release the original audio, just a dubbed version.

Ms. Meloni responded on Friday (June 19, 2026), in a video statement which was captioned: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg”.

“Donald Trump’s statements ⁠are completely made up. I am frankly astonished. I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover,” she said.

Ms. Meloni also chided him for acting with far greater deference to the ‌enemies of the West than he does towards old, established allies. Underscoring how much Mr. Trump’s comments have angered Ms. Meloni’s government, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced he was cancelling a ‌planned visit to the U.S. next week.