Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has once again hit back sharply on social media against comments by US President Donald Trump. Trump said Meloni’s popularity in Italy was shaky and that, at the G7 summit, she had begged him to take a photo with her. He also alleged that Meloni was not giving enough support to US efforts to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons.
In a statement on the social-media platform Instagram, Meloni described Trump’s remarks as ‘meaningless’ and an ‘unprovoked attack.’ The Italian prime minister said: ‘As for my popularity, friendship with you has certainly played no part in it. It does not depend on my relationship with you.’ Meloni added: ‘You needn’t worry about my popularity. I would say you should pay attention to yourself.’
Earlier, on Saturday, Trump had claimed that Meloni was not in a good political position in Italy. He said that not being allowed to use an Italian air base to carry out military operations in Iran had created serious logistical problems. In response, Meloni said the use of Italy’s military bases was governed by a prior agreement between the two countries, and that the agreement had always been respected; it was not possible to break that policy while she was prime minister.
Earlier, on Friday, Meloni said Trump’s claim that she had begged to take a photo during the G7 meeting held in France had astonished her. The exchange between the two leaders has again brought to the surface the strains in relations between the United States and Italy — a situation that has persisted especially since Trump’s military action against Iran earlier this year. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has also cancelled his scheduled visit to the United States early next week.
At the G7 summit, Trump and Meloni had been seen talking closely. Meloni later told reporters that their relationship was as it had been before and that there had been no disagreement of any kind. But shortly afterwards, in an interview with Italy’s La7 television channel, Trump said Meloni had begged to take a photo with him, and that he had felt sorry for her. ‘She was probably happy that I spoke with her,’ Trump added. The La7 channel did not broadcast Trump’s original English remarks directly, but dubbed them into Italian.
In response, Meloni said in an Instagram video that she was deeply shocked by Trump’s comments. ‘I do not know why the president of the United States treats allies this way. This is not the first such incident,’ Meloni said. ‘But he must remember one thing: neither I nor Italy ever begs.’ Meloni’s remarks have drawn support from various quarters of Italy’s political arena.
Cracks appeared in the Trump-Meloni relationship earlier this year, when Trump criticised Pope Leo XIV; Meloni then called that criticism unacceptable. The two leaders once had a close political relationship — Meloni was the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
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