Italy’s Meloni criticizes Trump’s “constant, unprovoked attacks” as leaders trade barbs

(CBS) — President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni continued to trade barbs on Saturday, after Meloni previously said she was “stunned” by Mr. Trump reportedly telling an Italian network she had “wanted a picture with me so badly” at the G7 summit in France earlier in the week, and he only said yes because he “felt sorry for her.”

“She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Italian TV channel La 7 quoted Mr. Trump as saying. The network only released an Italian voice-dubbed version of the conversation, so CBS News has not been able to verify his remarks.

“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,” he said, according to the channel.

In a video posted online on Friday, Meloni, a conservative politician previously seen as an ally to the president in Europe, responded by calling Mr. Trump’s depiction of the interaction “made up” and saying neither she nor her country “ever beg.” Meloni previously said there had been a “very positive climate” and “no friction” between Mr. Trump and other leaders at the G7. Video showed the pair deep in conversation during the event.

“I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” Meloni said. “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.”

Mr. Trump criticized Meloni again Saturday on Truth Social, saying the Italian leader had “asked, over and over, for a picture” during the summit. He also criticized Meloni for Italy’s lack of support during the Iran war, a criticism he has leveled at all U.S. NATO allies.

“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, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!),” Mr. Trump wrote on TruthSocial, adding, Meloni “wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience.”

Meloni responded on Instagram, telling Mr. Trump that “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”

“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” Meloni wrote, alongside a screenshot of Mr. Trump’s Truth Social post.

She defended her decision to prevent the U.S. from using Italy’s landing strips and runways, saying their use “is governed by agreements that we have always respected, and that cannot be violated as long as I am Prime Minister.”

“Italy remains a sovereign nation,” she added. “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”

Envoy cancels scheduled visit amid strain

Mr. Trump’s remarks to La 7 prompted the Italian government to cancel a planned visit to the U.S. by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani that had been scheduled for June 21 and 22.

“The serious and offensive words of President Trump … offend all of Italy,” Tajani wrote Friday in a post on X.

Meloni is one of Mr. Trump’s staunchest allies in Europe. She was the only European leader to come to Washington for his second inauguration, and her right-wing politics made her a more logical partner for the White House than other leaders of major European economies, some of whom have been sharply critical of Mr. Trump’s policies.

But the Iran war has put a strain on their relationship. Meloni also called Mr. Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV’s anti-war views “unacceptable.”

“I’m shocked at her,” the president responded in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.”