(AFP) – US President Donald Trump escalated a diplomatic row with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him and linking the dispute to tensions over Iran and NATO. The clash has opened an unusually personal rift between Trump and one of Europe’s most prominent right-wing leaders, who had sought to cast herself as a bridge between Washington and the continent during Trump’s return to power.
Trump had initially told Italian broadcaster La7 that Meloni “begged” him for a picture at this week’s G7 summit in France, saying he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.” Meloni angrily denied the claim, calling it “made up,” but Trump doubled down in a post on Truth Social, saying Meloni had asked “over and over” for a photograph during the summit. He also accused her of trying to repair relations with Washington for domestic political reasons after Italy failed to support US action against Iran.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Trump wrote. He said Meloni was doing “poorly in Italy” and suggested this was linked to her refusal to let the United States use Italian “landing strips or runways” during the conflict with Iran. Trump also revived his long-running complaint that the United States spends heavily to protect “so-called” NATO allies, saying Washington contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Italy and others.
The remarks were a sharp escalation of a dispute that had already triggered anger in Rome. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the United States, saying on Friday that Trump’s “grave and offensive” words toward Meloni “offend the whole of Italy.”
Meloni, who leads Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, said she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s original comments. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” she said in a video posted on X. She also accused Trump of showing more deference to the West’s adversaries than to its partners. “It’s a pity he doesn’t show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,” she said.
Meloni had spent months cultivating close ties with Trump while trying to reassure European allies wary of his second term. She had said at the end of the G7 summit in Evian that the atmosphere had been “very positive” and that there was “no friction” between Trump and other leaders. But relations between the two had already deteriorated during the Middle East war.
Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from his criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views, accusing the Italian leader of failing to help the United States through NATO. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said Trump’s latest comments were a “painful injury” to Italy-US ties, while Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said such “jokes do not benefit anyone.”
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
