A sharp diplomatic row erupted between Italy and the United States on Friday after President Donald Trump told Italian television that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had "begged" him for a photograph at the G7 summit held this week in Evian-les-Bains, a resort town in eastern France. Meloni immediately and publicly denied the claim, calling it "completely fabricated" and declaring that "neither I nor Italy ever beg." In a direct sign of the fallout, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a planned trip to the United States — including a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio — calling Trump's words "serious and offensive" to Meloni and to all of Italy.
Trump made the remarks in a phone interview with the Italian broadcaster La7, in which he alleged: "She begged me to take a picture with her. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her." The broadcaster aired a dubbed Italian-language version of the conversation without releasing the original English audio. Meloni, who has around seven million Instagram followers, responded almost immediately in a short video, expressing frank disbelief. "I don't know why the president of the United States behaves this way towards his allies — it is not the first time," she said. "I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence."
The incident has sparked a rare show of cross-party unity in Italy. President Sergio Mattarella, the country's head of state, telephoned Meloni to express his solidarity. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said he could not imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photo "not even under threat." A senior aide in Meloni's office, Giovanbattista Fazzolari, accused Trump of "wrecking the historic relations between the United States and Europe," while Transport Minister Matteo Salvini posted that "whoever attacks Giorgia, attacks all of us." Even opposition figures, including Democratic Party senator Filippo Sensi and Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, condemned Trump's tone as arrogant and humiliating.
The outburst marks a significant deterioration in what had once been one of Trump's closest European partnerships. Meloni, who leads the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, had positioned herself as a potential bridge between Washington and the European Union, and was the only EU head of government to attend Trump's inauguration in January 2025. But the relationship has visibly frayed over recent months — over the US military campaign against Iran, which Meloni has called illegal; over Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports; and over Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV. In April, Trump gave an interview to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in which he said of Meloni, "I thought she had courage, but I was wrong."
Analysts and European diplomats note that the spat reflects a broader shift in transatlantic relations. European leaders who initially sought to accommodate Trump are now more willing to push back openly. Officials across the continent have already refused the use of their air bases for US operations against Iran, and talk of greater European strategic autonomy — reducing reliance on an increasingly unpredictable Washington — has gained fresh momentum. For Italy, a founding member of NATO and a key US ally since World War II, the rift carries particular symbolic weight, and the tone on Friday suggested that patience, on both sides, is wearing thin.