Trump and Italy's Giorgia Meloni used to be buds. But a rift is widening

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives to a round table meeting at the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused President Trump of fabricating a story that she "begged" him for a photo at the G7 summit, in a stunning public break between the two leaders once considered allies.

"Donald Trump's statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned," Meloni said in a video posted on X Friday. "I don't ‌know why ⁠the president of the United States behaves like this toward his own allies. After all, it is not the first time."

She added: "I can only say it's a shame he doesn't show the same resolve toward with the enemies of the West and toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating. But there is one thing he should remember: Italy and I do not beg."

Meloni was responding to comments Trump allegedly made during a phone interview with an Italian journalist. NPR has not been able to independently verify what Trump said.

Italian television broadcaster La7 aired a dubbed version of the interview and Italian politicians have been reacting to it. According to La7's Italian translation, Trump said that Meloni was likely happy he talked to her and "begged" to have their picture taken together.

Trump and Meloni had just wrapped up the three-day political summit in Evian, France, where they held a number of photo ops together.

The journalist who conducted the interview, Daniele Compatengelo, did not immediately respond to NPR's request to hear the original recording. La7 has only released a dubbed Italian translation of the audio, making independent verification of Trump's exact words in English impossible.

President Donald Trump speaks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on at the G7 meeting in Evian, France, on June 16. Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images

The White House did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment on the issue and the accuracy of Trump's quotes.

But the Italian government is pushing back forcefully.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was canceling a planned trip to the U.S. this weekend, calling the alleged comments "serious and offensive" to all of Italy.

Across Italy, politicians on all sides rallied around Meloni.

"Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us," Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on X.

Even Meloni's political opponents came to her defense.

Matteo Renzi, a center-left former prime minister, called Trump's statements "horrifying, as always" — adding a pointed jab at the far-right Meloni, that she had "finally" noticed too.

In a lengthy post on X, Renzi called on Meloni to abandon her ties to Trump and said "the global right has failed."

Meloni, who took office in 2022 as Italy's first female prime minister, was once seen as one of Trump's strongest allies in Europe. She was the only European Union leader invited to Trump's second inauguration in January 2025.

But their relationship started to fracture in April, when Trump began attacking Pope Leo XIV on social media after the pontiff condemned U.S. military action in Iran.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

Meloni then called Trump's attacks "unacceptable."

Trump shot back at Meloni, telling the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: "I thought she had courage, but I was wrong."

AP contributed to this report.