Meloni denies Trump claim she begged for G7 photo, Italy fumes

The public clash showed how quickly Italy’s once-friendly line to Donald Trump has frayed since his decision to go to war with Iran. What began as a question about Ukraine ended with Giorgia Meloni rejecting Trump’s claim that she had “begged” him for a photo at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Trump made the remark to La7 after a correspondent asked him about Ukraine. He pivoted to Meloni and described their encounter at the June 16-17 summit in France as a request from the Italian prime minister for a picture. Meloni answered on Friday in a video posted by her office, saying the account was “completely fabricated” and “completely made up,” then adding: “There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

The disagreement carried unusual diplomatic weight because Trump and Meloni had been seen together repeatedly at the summit, including during the leaders’ group photo and in a separate moment on a small sofa. Their exchanges were visible enough to be captured by photo agencies, underscoring how the dispute was not about whether they met, but about what their meeting signaled inside a strained transatlantic relationship.

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, responded by cancelling a planned U.S. trip for June 21-22. He called Trump’s claim “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and toward Italy as a whole, turning a photo controversy into a more formal diplomatic snub. The cancellation suggested the Italian government saw the episode as more than a passing insult: it was a public test of respect between allies.

The row also reopened questions about how stable the Meloni-Trump channel remains after earlier friction over Pope Leo XIV and the war on Iran. The G7 summit itself had projected unity on another front, with leaders including Emmanuel Macron, Mark Carney, Sanae Takaichi and Keir Starmer agreeing on June 17 to support Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia’s war economy. Meloni had previously told reporters at the summit that her relationship with Trump remained unchanged and that there had been “no recriminations.” The latest exchange suggests that the personal rapport between Rome and Washington is now being measured against the broader strain on NATO messaging, Italy’s domestic politics and the credibility of the alliance’s public front.