Giorgia Meloni was the only European head of state to attend Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. She positioned herself as a bridge between Washington and the European Union and absorbed Trump’s criticism of her Ukraine and Iran positions without public response. On Friday, she had enough.
Trump told Italy’s La7 broadcaster this week that Meloni had begged him for a photo at the G7 summit in Evian. “She wanted a picture with me so badly,” he said. “I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
Italy did not take that sitting down.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a planned trip to the United States scheduled for June 21 and 22, posting on X: “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States.”
Le gravi e offensive parole del Presidente Trump nei confronti del Presidente del Consiglio Giorgia Meloni offendono tutta l’Italia. Per questo motivo ho deciso di annullare la mia visita negli Stati Uniti prevista per i prossimi 21 e 22 giugno.
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) June 19, 2026
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Meloni posted her own video shortly after. “Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.” She closed with a sentence that has since traveled across every European outlet in nearly every language: “Italy and I do not beg.”
Io e l’Italia non imploriamo mai. pic.twitter.com/sTpKlqWB67
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 19, 2026
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was not far behind. “I can, however, imagine how much it cost her to set aside what Trump had said weeks ago, to serve the interests of Italy, of Europe, and of the West,” he posted on X. “Jokes of this kind do no good to anyone: neither to the USA, nor to Italy, nor to the alliance.”
Non posso immaginare @GiorgiaMeloni chiedere una fotografia a nessuno, nemmeno sotto minaccia.
Posso invece immaginare quanto le sia costato mettere da parte ciò che Trump aveva detto settimane fa,per fare l’interesse dell’Italia, dell’Europa e dell’Occidente.
Ed immagino quanto…— Guido Crosetto (@GuidoCrosetto) June 19, 2026
The friction between Rome and Washington did not begin at the G7.
Meloni publicly called the US-Israeli war in Iran illegal, which put her at odds with the administration she had spent months trying to cultivate. Trump criticized her in an April Corriere della Sera interview, saying she lacked courage over her stance on the Iran conflict. “I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he told the Italian daily. Meloni said nothing publicly at the time.
The same month, Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV over his condemnation of the Iran war, saying “if I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” Meloni said it was “right and normal” for the pope to rebuke war. Again, no public escalation from her side.
Featured image via X screengrab
