Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday canceled a planned visit to the United States following reported comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that appeared to mock Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Tajani Condemns Trump's Remarks
“The grave and offensive words of President Trump… offend the whole of Italy,” Tajani, who had been scheduled to visit the U.S. on June 21 and 22, wrote on X. He announced the cancellation of his trip in a post that included the Italian translation of his statement.
Meloni said she was “stunned” by Trump’s comments to Italian channel La7. According to a transcript provided by the network, Trump claimed Meloni “wanted a picture with me so badly” at the G7 summit and that he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.” He also suggested that Meloni might be “happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her.”
Meloni Responds
Meloni called what Trump said “made up,” adding: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.” In a post on X, she wrote, “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies. I can only say that 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.”
At the end of the G7 summit in Evian, France, on Wednesday, Meloni had spoken of a “very positive climate” and “no friction” between Trump and other world leaders present. However, the relationship has come under strain during the Middle East war, and Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from the U.S. president’s harsh criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views. Meloni condemned Trump’s remarks as “unacceptable,” prompting the president to direct his fire at her.
The cancellation marks a significant diplomatic rift between Italy and the United States, with Tajani emphasizing that Trump’s words “offend the whole of Italy.”
