The dispute over the alleged G7 photo request sparked a heated public exchange between President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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WASHINGTON – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused her former aide, President Donald Trump, of fabricating a story about her soliciting a photo during the G7 summit in France this week.
“There are some things that need immediate attention,” Meloni said in a June 19 interview with Italian television station La7. “What Donald Trump said is completely fabricated. Frankly, I’m surprised.”
Video from the G7 summit showed Trump and Meloni talking while sitting side by side on a small sofa.
Trump told La7 in a phone interview that Meloni “would be happy to talk to me. There was no need to talk.” “She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted to take a picture with me. I wouldn’t have taken a picture with her, but I feel sorry for her,” Trump said, according to a TV station interpreter.
Meloni had a sharp reaction to the president’s remarks.
“I don’t know why the president of the United States would behave like this towards an ally, and this is not the first time,” Meloni said, according to a translation of his remarks from Reuters.
“I can only say that it’s unfortunate that he doesn’t show the same determination towards the West and America’s enemies. In fact, he treats its leaders much more generously,” she said. “There’s one thing he needs to remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Meloni’s remarks.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on June 19 that he was canceling a visit to the United States scheduled for next week, citing Trump’s “serious and offensive” comments about Meloni.
Trump and Meloni, who are on the political right, once spoke highly of each other. However, after the US began war with Iran, the Italian prime minister began distancing himself from President Trump. She also criticized the president for slamming the Pope over the war.
Trump was quick to criticize Meloni. “I’m shocked for her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong,” Trump told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in April.
Contributed by: Reuters
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
