US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — once among the closest ideological partners in transatlantic politics — have descended into an open diplomatic feud after Trump publicly claimed that Meloni repeatedly sought a photograph with him at the G7 summit in France, an allegation Meloni has flatly and forcefully denied.

What Trump Said

In a post on Truth Social, Trump repeated claims he first aired in a telephone interview with Italy's La7 television network, accusing Meloni of seeking political mileage from her association with him. 'Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,' Trump wrote.

Trump went further, suggesting Meloni's alleged behaviour was driven by domestic political pressures, saying she was 'doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity.' In the earlier La7 interview, he had put it more bluntly: 'She begged me to take a picture with her! She wanted a photo with me so badly, I might not have done it otherwise, but I felt sorry for her!'

Trump also widened his criticism to foreign policy, accusing Meloni of refusing to back US efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and alleging that Rome 'wouldn't even let us use Italy's landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience,' despite what he described as substantial American contributions to Italy's defence and broader NATO commitments. 'Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her 'numbers up.' No thanks!!!' he wrote.

Meloni's Rebuttal

Meloni responded swiftly and in unusually direct terms for a sitting European head of government addressing a US president. 'The statements by Donald Trump are completely invented. They are frankly astonishing. I don't know why the president of the United States behaves like this with his own allies,' she said publicly.

She added a pointed contrast: 'It's a shame that he doesn't have the same determination toward the enemies of the West, the enemies of the United States, toward whose leadership he instead shows himself to be more accommodating.' In her sharpest line, Meloni declared: 'I and Italy never beg.'

Diplomatic Fallout: Miami Forum Cancelled

The row has already produced concrete diplomatic consequences. The US State Department had announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would travel to Miami on 22 June to participate in the Italy-US Business, Investment, Science and Innovation Forum, where he was scheduled to meet Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to advance bilateral cooperation on economic security and critical minerals.

However, on Friday, Tajani announced the cancellation of his planned visit. '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 scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June,' Tajani wrote on X.

Context: From Close Allies to Public Rivals

The rupture is particularly striking given the warmth that had defined the Trump-Meloni relationship until recently. Meloni was widely regarded as one of Trump's closest political allies in Europe, with both leaders sharing broadly similar positions on immigration, national sovereignty, and scepticism of multilateral institutions. Their public exchanges had been notably cordial, making the current confrontation one of the sharpest intra-allied disputes of Trump's second term.

This comes amid broader strains between Washington and several European capitals over trade tariffs, defence spending, and the US posture toward Iran — suggesting the Meloni episode may reflect deeper structural tensions rather than a personal spat alone.

Whether the two leaders can repair the relationship before it causes lasting damage to Italy-US bilateral ties — including on defence cooperation and trade — remains to be seen.