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  "path": "/news/world/giorgia-meloni-donald-trump-photo-italy-us-row",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-19T16:55:05.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Donald Trump accused of handing Iran lifeline as regime and UK proxies ‘emboldened’ by peace deal",
    "Iran given 60 days to prove it's ready for peace as Donald Trump signs war-ending deal",
    "Danny Kruger blames 'stop Reform agenda' for Makerfield by-election loss",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has slammed United States President Donald Trump for making “completely fabricated” claims as a diplomatic row erupted between Rome and Washington.\n\nThe crisis was sparked after the Republican leader said his Italian counterpart had “begged” him for a photograph during this week's G7 summit in France.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“I didn't have to talk to her. 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,” Mr Trump was quoted as saying by Italian TV channel La7 in a telephone interview.\n\nMs Meloni rejected his account in a furious video message posted to her seven million Instagram followers.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“Donald Trump’s claims are completely fabricated,” she said.\n\n“Frankly, I am stunned… I don't know why the US president behaves this way towards his allies.”\n\nThe Italian leader compared Mr Trump’s comments to those he directed at adversaries of the West, noting he appeared “far more accommodating” towards hostile leaders.\n\n“Neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she concluded defiantly.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe spat has now evolved into a full-blown diplomatic row between the United States and Italy.\n\nForeign Minister Antonio Tajani swiftly announced he was scrapping a planned visit to America this weekend.\n\nHe had been due to attend an Italy-US business forum in Miami and meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.\n\n“The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia offend the whole of Italy,” Mr Tajani wrote on X.\n\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Donald Trump accused of handing Iran lifeline as regime and UK proxies ‘emboldened’ by peace deal\n  * Iran given 60 days to prove it's ready for peace as Donald Trump signs war-ending deal\n  * Danny Kruger blames 'stop Reform agenda' for Makerfield by-election loss\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDefence Minister Guido Crosetto also rushed to his Prime Minister’s defence, dismissing any suggestion Ms Meloni would ever plead for a photograph “even under threat\".\n\n“Jokes of this kind do no good to anyone: neither to the USA, nor to Italy, nor to the alliance,” he commented.\n\nJustice Minister Carlo Nordio invoked the memory of American soldiers who died liberating Italy from fascism.\n\nHe described Mr Trump's comments as a “painful injury” to the historic bond between the two nations.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nGiovanbattista Fazzolari, undersecretary to the leader's office, accused Mr Trump of “wrecking the historic relations between the United States and Europe” through his “inappropriate outbursts”.\n\nTransport Minister Matteo Salvini declared: “Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us.”\n\nPresident Sergio Mattarella, Italy's head of state, also telephoned his Prime Minister to express his support.\n\nThe public rupture marks a dramatic deterioration in what had once been a close political alliance between the two leaders, who found common ground in shared national populist policies.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMs Meloni was the sole European Union leader to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration and visited his Mar-a-Lago estate weeks beforehand, describing the meeting as exceeding expectations.\n\nMr Trump had repeatedly praised her as “fantastic” and “incredible” in the months that followed.\n\nHowever, relations soured in April when Italy refused to support the US-Israeli war in Iran, which Ms Meloni condemned as illegal.\n\nThe US leader also sparked fury in Italy after attacking Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's anti-war stance, prompting the Prime Minister to brand his remarks “unacceptable”.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Giorgia Meloni slams Donald Trump for ‘completely fabricated’ claims in video message as diplomatic row erupts"
}