Donald Trump has reopened his fight with Giorgia Meloni, saying the Italian leader “begged” him for a photo at the G7 summit even after they were seen speaking closely there. The remark, delivered days after their meeting in Évian-les-Bains in France, turned a brief show of warmth into another public swipe.
For readers searching this now, the reason is simple: Meloni was once cast as Trump’s closest political ally in Europe, and the relationship has now gone from praise to barbs to another round of praise and attack. She was the only European leader with a front-row seat at his January 2025 inauguration, then went to the White House in April to try to ease tensions over US tariffs on European goods, only for the feud to spill back into public view.
The latest escalation came after a chain of disputes that had already shaken the pair’s image as partners. In late March, Italy’s defence ministry refused to let US military aircraft bound for the Middle East use the Nato airbase at Sigonella in Sicily without parliamentary approval, a decision that fed irritation in Washington. In April, Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social over the pontiff’s criticism of the war, and Meloni called that attack “unacceptable.” Trump then told Corriere della Sera, “I’m shocked at her,” adding, “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” before saying, “She is unacceptable... she is not the same person, Italy is not the same country.”
That made the G7 moment in June look like a reset. Trump and Meloni were photographed deep in conversation on a sofa, and Italian officials described it as a “clarifying discussion.” Meloni told reporters the atmosphere was “very positive” and had “no friction.” Days later, Trump told La7 that she had “begged” him for a photo, with the Italian voiceover adding, “She wanted a picture with me so badly” and “I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
The friction matters because the fallout is no longer private or tactical; it is being fought in public, in ways that can erode Meloni’s credibility at home and abroad. The most revealing part is not whether the two leaders can still sit together, but whether either side still wants the other to be seen as an equal partner rather than a prop in the next round of political theatre.
