On the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, seated on a small sofa, Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni were seen deep in what looked like an extended conversation. The US President has now claimed the Italian PM had “begged” him for that moment: “She wanted a picture with me so badly — I could have skipped it, but I felt sorry for her.” Meloni’s response was a rebuke in Italian: “Io e l’Italia non imploriamo mai.” ‘Neither I nor Italy ever beg.’
A diplomatic row has since erupted, and responses have included a reference to World War 2.
What Trump said on Meloni, and Hormuz
Trump’s remarks were made in an interview broadcast on Friday on Italy’s La7 channel, where a correspondent asked him about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni instead. And the conversation turned to their meeting during the just-concluded G7 gathering in Evian-les-Bains, France.
In a phone call with American channel NBC News, Trump doubled down. “That’s true,” he said, of the “begging” claim.
“She wasn’t there for us. She was a big fan but because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the strait,” he added, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that Iran blocked after the US and Israel launched military strikes in late February. Trump has repeatedly accused NATO allies of failing to support American forces after the war began.
Meloni responds with a video
In her video in turn, said she was responding because “certain things deserve an immediate response”. She said she was “frankly stunned” and did not know why the President of the United States would behave that way.
“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — towards leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating. But there’s one thing he must remember, Italy and I do not beg,” she said.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani then abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the US. Tajani wrote on X, “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June.”
By Friday afternoon, solidarity for Meloni had poured in from across the Italian government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s Head of State.
Transport minister Matteo Salvini posted, “Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us.” Justice minister Carlo Nordio invoked the memory of American troops who died in Italy during World War 2, writing that their sacrifice “did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties”. Defence minister Guido Crosetto said he did not believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat”, Reuters reported.
Giovanbattista Fazzolari, one of Meloni’s closest political allies and undersecretary to the prime minister’s office, issued a rare public broadside, saying, “It is unclear whether out of intent or ineptitude, Trump is wrecking the historic relations between the United States and Europe.”
Longtime ally faces Trump taunts
Even opposition politicians crossed the floor to side with Meloni. Former prime minister Matteo Renzi, a centre-left figure, called Trump’s statements “horrifying, as always” — adding a pointed jab that Meloni had “finally” noticed.
In a post on X, Renzi called on Meloni to abandon her ties with Trump, saying “the global right has failed”.
The rupture is a striking reversal for a leader who had staked much of her international standing on the Trump relationship. Meloni, who took office in October 2022 at the head of a right-wing coalition, was the only European Union leader invited to Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025 .
Trump had spoken of her in characteristically effusive terms, calling her “fantastic,” “incredible,” and a friend. She positioned herself as a potential “bridge” between Washington and the European Union.
Their alliance was built also on a shared ideological current, with both leaders having risen on platforms of right-wing theories, cultural nationalism, and border control, among other issues. Meloni has built a similar diplomatic relationship, for instance, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But her bond with Washington — essentially with Trump — began to fracture in April, when he publicly attacked Pope Leo XIV after the pontiff condemned US military action in Iran. For Meloni, whose political identity is rooted in Catholic and civilisational conservatism, defending the papacy was an imperative also because Italy is the most Catholic-identified major European nation, with the Vatican situated within its borders.
Meloni called Trump’s attacks on the pope, who happens to be American, “unacceptable”. Trump shot back: “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.” He also accused her of not wanting to “help get rid of a nuclear-weaponed Iran”, and described NATO as a “paper tiger”.
The G7 in Evian was billed as an opportunity to reset the US-EU reltionship too. The footage of Trump and Meloni’s conversations were even seen as a thaw. It wasn’t.
