WASHINGTON — President Trump continued to lash out at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insisting that she asked “over and over” for a photo with him at the recent Group of 7 summit — which she flatly denies — and criticizing what he said was Italy’s lack of cooperation during the Iran war. And Meloni continues to hit back.
Trump’s remarks posted Saturday deepen the dispute that began with his interview last week with an Italian broadcaster, during which the president claimed Meloni “begged” for the photo during the G-7 meeting in France.
Meloni has called that “completely fabricated.” The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.
Her remarks and the diplomatic rebuke amounted to a blunt confrontation of Trump rarely seen by her European counterparts. And in Italy, the prime minister’s comments won supported across the political spectrum, according to reports.
“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.
He continued: “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!).”
Meloni soon responded again, saying in a statement to Trump that “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”
“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that, “in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
Meloni’s domestic polling numbers, like Trump’s, have been sagging, dipping below 40% approval in recent surveys.
The rift between the two powerful leaders comes as Trump’s relationship with Europe had long been fraying, mainly over his administration’s trade policy toward the continent, the president’s continued threats to take control of Greenland — a self-governing territory of Denmark — and his decision to strike Iran. Unlike most U.S. leaders embarking on a new war, Trump did not seek European allies’ support beforehand, but he has lambasted them since for not joining the Iran conflict started by the United States and Israel.
At the just-concluded G-7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Trump took a warmer tone toward other European leaders in the coalition, as they aligned behind his interim agreement to end the war in Iran. But tensions again were expected to be on full display as Trump travels to Turkey for the annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit next month.
Trump’s initial comments were aired Friday on the La7 network. A correspondent had asked the president about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and made the claim about the photo. Trump said he was not obliged to take the picture with her but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, but not the original English audio.
In his post, Trump also complained that Meloni would not allow the U.S. to use Italy’s landing strips or runways during the Iran war. That is line with a long-standing Trump complaint about the military alliance and one that he is raising again before his White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Italy, a key logistics hub for the U.S., declined in March to allow American bombers headed for the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval. It was a decision reflecting constitutional constraints and strong domestic opposition to the war. Meloni has insisted that any use of Italian bases for offensive operations would require parliamentary backing.
Trump vented his frustration about Meloni and on Saturday claimed that she “wants to be friends again” in light of the initial deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
Kim writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Silvia Stellacci in Rome contributed to this report.
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