Minutes after US President Donald Trump repeated his claims that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly begged for a photo with him at the recently concluded G-7 summit in France, Meloni has again strongly rejected the claim. Directly addressing the US President, Meloni said that such constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.
In an Instagram post shared on Saturday, Meloni addressed Trump’s renewed remarks, stating that she was responding but would not pursue the matter further. “My response to Donald Trump’s latest post about me. But I will not return to the topic, because I still believe in the unity of the West and I do not believe that this is a spectacle worthy of our task,” she wrote.
Responding to Trump’s claims that she wanted to have her photographs clicked with him because she has lost popularity in Italy, she said, “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.”
Addressing Trump’s allegations that Italy didn’t allow US forces to use its bases for attack on Iran, she said, “That is also what I did regarding the American military bases in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected, and that cannot be violated as long as I am Prime Minister.”
Meloni ended her comments with, “Italy remains a sovereign nation. In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
Meloni’s response came after Trump posted on his Truth Social, repeating his earlier assertion that Meloni had “begged” him for a photograph during the G7 meeting in Évian-les-Bains, France. He wrote, “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France. 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!).”
He added, “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. Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.”
Earlier, Meloni had strongly denied the claim Trump made in an interview in a video response, describing it as “completely fabricated” and expressing astonishment at the US President’s behaviour towards allies. She emphasised, “Neither I nor Italy ever beg,” and criticised Trump for showing greater accommodation towards the West’s adversaries.
The diplomatic friction escalated with Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelling a planned visit to the United States.
The incident comes in the backdrop of strained US-EU relations, which reached its peak when Trump wanted to annex Greenland. Trump has been repeatedly targeting the EU nations accusing them of benefiting from NATO without contributing much to the military alliance. Trump is also not happy over EU’s lack of full cooperation in his attacks on Iran.
