Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has slammed United States President Donald Trump for making “completely fabricated” claims as a diplomatic row erupted between Rome and Washington.
The crisis was sparked after the Republican leader said his Italian counterpart had “begged” him for a photograph during this week's G7 summit in France.
“I didn't have to talk to her. She 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,” Mr Trump was quoted as saying by Italian TV channel La7 in a telephone interview.
Ms Meloni rejected his account in a furious video message posted to her seven million Instagram followers.
“Donald Trump’s claims are completely fabricated,” she said.
“Frankly, I am stunned… I don't know why the US president behaves this way towards his allies.”
The Italian leader compared Mr Trump’s comments to those he directed at adversaries of the West, noting he appeared “far more accommodating” towards hostile leaders.
“Neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she concluded defiantly.
The spat has now evolved into a full-blown diplomatic row between the United States and Italy.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani swiftly announced he was scrapping a planned visit to America this weekend.
He had been due to attend an Italy-US business forum in Miami and meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia offend the whole of Italy,” Mr Tajani wrote on X.
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Defence Minister Guido Crosetto also rushed to his Prime Minister’s defence, dismissing any suggestion Ms Meloni would ever plead for a photograph “even under threat".
“Jokes of this kind do no good to anyone: neither to the USA, nor to Italy, nor to the alliance,” he commented.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio invoked the memory of American soldiers who died liberating Italy from fascism.
He described Mr Trump's comments as a “painful injury” to the historic bond between the two nations.
Giovanbattista Fazzolari, undersecretary to the leader's office, accused Mr Trump of “wrecking the historic relations between the United States and Europe” through his “inappropriate outbursts”.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini declared: “Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us.”
President Sergio Mattarella, Italy's head of state, also telephoned his Prime Minister to express his support.
The public rupture marks a dramatic deterioration in what had once been a close political alliance between the two leaders, who found common ground in shared national populist policies.
Ms Meloni was the sole European Union leader to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration and visited his Mar-a-Lago estate weeks beforehand, describing the meeting as exceeding expectations.
Mr Trump had repeatedly praised her as “fantastic” and “incredible” in the months that followed.
However, relations soured in April when Italy refused to support the US-Israeli war in Iran, which Ms Meloni condemned as illegal.
The US leader also sparked fury in Italy after attacking Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's anti-war stance, prompting the Prime Minister to brand his remarks “unacceptable”.
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