The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, have starred this Friday in a diplomatic clash following a picture taken together during the G7 summit. According to the American leader, he agreed to take the photograph because the leader made him "feel sorry," words that the head of the Italian government has flatly rejected on social media, insisting that Italy "does not beg."
Trump made these statements in an interview granted to the Italian program 'L'Aria che tira'. "She begged me to take a picture with her. I felt sorry for her," declared the US president, before emphasizing that Meloni "really wanted" to immortalize herself by his side, something that, according to him, he was not obliged to accept. "But I felt sorry for her," he reiterated.
Meloni's response came through a video shared on her social media profiles, where she expressed her "astonishment" at words she described as "completely invented" by Donald Trump.
"I don't know why the President of the United States behaves like this with his own allies; it's not the first time it has happened. I can only say that it is disappointing that he does not have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States. But one thing must be remembered: Italy and I do not beg," Meloni retorted.
The first repercussion on the diplomatic level has been the announcement by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has decided to cancel an official trip to the United States scheduled for June 21 and 22, following the "serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni," which, he stressed, "offend all of Italy."