Donald Trump Claims Giorgia Meloni Begged for Photo; Antonio Tajani Cancels U.S. Trip

A diplomatic rift erupted in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.

Trump told La7 that Meloni had “begged” him for a picture and that he “felt sorry for her,” while video from the summit showed Meloni and Trump speaking on a small sofa.

Al Jazeera

Meloni rejected the account in a video, saying “Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up,” and she added “Italy and I do not beg.”

The dispute escalated further when Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a planned trip to the United States, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy.

Le Monde reported that Trump said, “Je suis choqué par elle. Je pensais qu’elle avait du courage, je me trompais,” in an interview with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday 14 avril.

In response, Meloni defended Pope Léon XIV and judged Trump’s attack “inacceptable,” while the same Le Monde account said Trump called the pontiff “faible sur la criminalité.”

Al-Jazeera Net

The clash over the photo claim also triggered a broader backlash in Italy, with Transport Minister Matteo Salvini posting, “Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us.”

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio tied the dispute to past U.S. sacrifice, saying “The thousands of crosses marking the graves of American soldiers who died to free us from Nazi-Fascist dictatorship did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties.”

The fallout from the Meloni–Trump exchange moved beyond rhetoric as Tajani cancelled his planned U.S. trip and the Foreign Ministry also announced that the business and scientific forum Tajani was to attend in Miami was called off.

In the same dispute, Trump linked the photo claim to the Strait of Hormuz, saying “She was a big fan but I don’t want her as a fan because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the strait,” according to NBC News.

The stakes for Europe, as described in the coverage, included how transatlantic coordination could be affected by public friction, with the dispute framed as a sharp deterioration in U.S.-Italy relations after earlier warmth at Trump’s inauguration and at the G7.

For Meloni, the immediate consequence was a public posture of refusal—“Italy and I do not beg”—while for Trump the confrontation underscored a pattern of complaints about allies that drew condemnation from Italian ministers across the political spectrum.