WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� on Saturday lashed out at , insisting that she asked 鈥渙ver and over鈥� for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit and criticizing what he said was Italy鈥檚 lack of cooperation during the Iran war.
The remarks with the Republican president鈥檚 interview with an Italian broadcaster, during which Trump claimed Meloni 鈥渂egged鈥� for the photo during the G7 meeting in France. Meloni has called that 鈥渃ompletely fabricated.鈥� The dustup led Italy鈥檚 foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni鈥檚 government lined up in her defense.
鈥淚talian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,鈥� Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.
He continued: 鈥淪he 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!).鈥�
Meloni soon responded, saying in a statement to Trump that 鈥渢hese constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.鈥�
鈥淎s 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鈥檚 national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,鈥� Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that “in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.鈥�
The rift between the two powerful leaders comes as Trump鈥檚 relationship with Europe had long been fraying, mainly over the U.S. administration鈥檚 trade policy toward the continent, the president鈥檚 continued threats to take control of Greenland 鈥� a self-governing territory of Denmark 鈥� and Trump鈥檚 decision to strike Iran.
At the just-concluded G7 summit in 脡vian-les-Bains, France, Trump took a warmer tone toward other European leaders in the coalition, as they aligned behind his interim agreement to end the war in Iran. But tensions again were expected to be on full display as Trump travels to Turkey for the annual NATO summit next month.
Trump’s initial comments were aired Friday on the La7 network. A correspondent had asked the president about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and made the claim about the photo. Trump said he was not obliged to take the picture with her but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, but not the original English audio.
In his post, Trump also complained that Meloni would not allow the U.S. to use Italy鈥檚 landing strips or runways during the Iran war even though the U.S. is a leader in defense spending among NATO allies. That is a long-standing complaint about the military alliance and one that Trump is raising again before his White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Italy, a key logistics hub for the U.S., to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval. It was a decision reflecting constitutional constraints and strong domestic opposition to the war. Meloni has insisted that any use of Italian bases for offensive operations would require parliamentary backing.
Trump and on Saturday claimed that she 鈥渨ants to be friends again鈥� in light of the initial deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
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Associated Press writer Silvia Stellacci in Rome contributed to this report.
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