Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni
The incident stemmed from an interview Trump gave to the Italian television channel La7, in which the U.S. president claimed that Meloni had allegedly asked him to take a photo together at the G7 summit, and that he agreed “out of pity,” according to svoboda.org.
“President Trump’s rude and offensive remarks directed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are an insult to all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the U.S., scheduled for June 21 and 22,” Tajani wrote on social media platform X.
Meloni had previously dismissed Trump’s remarks, calling them “completely fabricated.”
“To be honest, I’m in shock. I don’t understand why the President of the United States behaves this way toward his allies, and this isn’t the first time it’s happened,” she said in a video message on X.
The crisis between Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni has been unfolding since the spring of 2026. In April, Meloni criticized the U.S. president’s remarks directed at Pope Leo XIV. The pontiff did not support U.S. actions in Iran, and Trump, in response, called him weak. Meloni noted that the U.S. president’s words were unacceptable. Trump then accused the Italian prime minister of indifference to the threat of Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons.
