US President Donald Trump’s comments to an Italian media outlet about the nation’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have sparked a recent diplomatic incident.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani introduced Friday that he was canceling a deliberate trip to the United States, the place he was slated to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in response to Trump’s reported remarks. Tajani referred to as Trump’s claims “offensive,” whereas Meloni mentioned they have been “completely fabricated.”
It is the newest dip within the deteriorating relationship between the once-close leaders and an additional fracture between the US and its European allies, coming after indicators of restore on the G7 summit this week in France.
In an interview with Italy’s La7 TV, Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a photograph on the summit, and he obliged as a result of he felt sorry for her, in accordance to a dubbed Italian translation posted by the outlet.
Meloni refuted the comments in a sharply worded video posted on Friday morning, saying they deserved “an immediate response.”
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I’m frankly shocked. I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way towards his own allies, and it’s not the first time it’s happened,” she mentioned within the video posted on X.
“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States, with leaderships with which he instead appears much more accommodating,” she continued.
“But you must remember one thing: Italy and I never beg,” Meloni mentioned.
Tajani was scheduled to come to the US early subsequent week and attend the Italy-US Business, Investment, Science and Innovation Forum in Miami. According to a press release from the State Department, Rubio was slated to meet together with his Italian counterpart “to advance U.S.-Italy bilateral cooperation on economic security and critical minerals.”
NCS has reached out to the White House and US State Department for remark.
It just isn’t the primary spat between Trump and Meloni. Earlier this 12 months, the right-wing Italian chief called Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo XIV over his opposition to the struggle towards Iran “unacceptable.” Trump then criticized Meloni and Italy extra broadly for what he mentioned was a failure to sufficiently assist the US within the battle.