Trump, Italy's Meloni trade sharp barbs over photo claim

A diplomatic spat has erupted between allies after US President Donald Trump claimed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly "pleaded" for a photo with him during the G7 summit in France.

The remarks have triggered a fierce backlash from Rome, including an immediate video rebuttal from Meloni and the cancellation of a high-level diplomatic visit to the United States.

The controversy began when Trump published a message on Truth Social, stating that Meloni had asked "over and over, for a picture with me" during their G7 meeting.

Trump went on to claim that Meloni's request was a political maneuver to get her "numbers up" due to poor domestic popularity, linking her standing to past policy disputes regarding Iran and NATO.

Meloni fires back 

Meloni did not wait long to address the narrative, posting a swift video response on X.

In the video, the Italian Prime Minister explicitly labeled Trump’s anecdote "completely fabricated" and expressed profound dismay at how the former US president treats international partners.

"I don't know why the President of the United States behaves like this with his own allies," Meloni stated in her video message, adding that she regretted he did not show the same "determination" toward actual adversaries of Western leadership. She concluded firmly, noting that "Italy does not implore."

The dispute quickly expanded beyond a social media row.

Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, signaled Rome's institutional anger by canceling a planned diplomatic trip to the United States.

Tajani publicly declared that Trump's remarks were an unprovoked offense to the entire Italian nation, signaling that the current right-wing coalition government in Rome is fully rallying behind Meloni.

Trump doubles down

Rather than cooling the tensions, Trump doubled down on his assertions, shifting the focus to longstanding geopolitical disagreements between Washington and Rome.

In his posted statement, Trump criticized Meloni's government for pushing back on previous US strategies aimed at "denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon."

Furthermore, Trump aired specific military grievances, explicitly complaining that Italy had refused to let American forces use the nation's strategic landing strips and runways.

Trump called this restriction a "great logistical inconvenience," particularly given the "hundreds of billions of dollars a year" he claims the US spends to protect Italy and other "so-called" NATO allies.

The highly public exchange marks a severe low point in relations between the conservative leaders, exposing deeper fractures over defense and foreign policy just ahead of a critical upcoming NATO summit where alliance unity is expected to be tested.