Trump insists Italy’s Meloni sought photos with him to boost popularity

play Live Sign upShow navigation menu.css-15ru6p1{font-size:inherit;font-weight:normal;}Navigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificWorld CupMiddle EastExplainedOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelSponsored Contentplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftDonald TrumpHow Iran war fallout may shape US electionsA visual guide to redistrictingWho is Thomas Massie?caret-rightNews|Donald TrumpTrump insists Italy’s Meloni sought photos with him to boost popularityUS president’s comments escalate a row between the once-close leaders that has emerged during the conflict with Iran. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoUS President Donald Trump speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a working lunch with G7 leaders in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16 [Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via Getty Images]By AFPPublished On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on criticism of Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, claiming she repeatedly sought photo opportunities with him at the recent G7 summit to bolster her domestic popularity. Trump’s latest comments in a post on Truth Social on Saturday deepen a personal row between Trump and the right-wing Italian leader, who was long viewed as one of the US president’s top allies in Europe. Trump had initially told Italian media on Thursday that Meloni “begged” him for a picture at the G7 summit in France, saying he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her”. Meloni responded that she was “stunned” by the “made-up” claim. But Trump fired back in his Saturday post, saying the Italian prime minister had asked “over and over” for a photograph. He accused her of trying to repair relations with Washington for domestic political reasons after Italy failed to support US action against Iran. “Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Trump wrote. Meloni rejected Trump’s latest remarks on Saturday. “President Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” Meloni said on social media platform Instagram. “My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” she added. In his post, Trump also revived his long-running complaint that the US spends heavily to protect “so-called” NATO allies, saying Washington contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Italy and others. The remarks were a sharp escalation of a dispute that had already triggered anger in Rome. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled a planned visit to the US over the row, saying on Friday that Trump’s “grave and offensive” words towards Meloni “offend the whole of Italy”. Meloni, who leads Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, has accused Trump of showing more deference to the West’s adversaries than to its partners. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” she said in a video posted on X in response to Trump’s original comments. “It is regrettable that he does not show the same determination against the enemies of the West and the United States – against leaderships with whom he actually proves to be much more accommodating,” she continued. Meloni had spent months cultivating close ties with Trump while trying to reassure European allies wary of his second term. She had said at the end of the G7 summit in Evian that the atmosphere had been “very positive” and that there was “no friction” between Trump and other leaders. But relations between the two had already deteriorated during the conflict with Iran. Trump turned on Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from his criticism of the pontiff’s antiwar views. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” Trump told Italian media at the time, adding that it was “very said” that Meloni “doesn’t want to help get rid of a nuclear-weaponed Iran”. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: