Trump renews attack on Meloni over claimed G7 photo request

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly asked to be photographed with him at the G7 summit in France, escalating a public dispute that began with remarks aired by Italian media.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Meloni had persistently sought a picture with him during the summit. The latest post came after an earlier interview broadcast in Italy in which he made similar comments about the Italian premier.

In that interview, Trump said “She [Meloni] begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”

Meloni rejected the remarks, saying she was astonished by what he had said and describing the claim as entirely fabricated. She also accused Trump of showing greater deference to the enemies of the West than to long-standing allies.

After Meloni responded publicly, Trump broadened his criticism to include her political standing in Italy and her approach to ties with Washington. In another Truth Social post, he wrote “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy.”

Trump also referred to Italy’s stance on the issue of Iran and said Meloni had not allowed the United States to use Italian landing strips or runways, calling that a logistical problem despite what he said was a vast US contribution to Italy’s protection and that of other Nato allies.

He wrote “When it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (but so did Nato, for that matter!). She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the US contributes hundreds of billions of dollars a year to protect Italy, and other 'so-called' Nato Allies”.

Trump further claimed that Meloni was now trying to restore ties with the United States after what he described as a US military defeat of Iran, and suggested that she was doing so to improve her domestic political standing.

He concluded one of the posts with a blunt dismissal, writing “Now, after the United States 'defeated' Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up’”.

Trump ended the message with “No thanks!”.