FLASH
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The history of the relationship between the US president and the Italian prime minister began to deteriorate with the war in Iran, when Italy refused to use military bases on its territory...
The once close political relationship between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appears to be going through its most serious crisis yet. The first cracks appeared over the Middle East crisis and the war in Iran, when Rome opted for a more reserved stance, avoiding making its military bases available for possible operations.
The end of this political "romance" seems to have been confirmed by the new public clash that erupted after Trump's statements, who claimed that Meloni had "begged" him to take a photo together during the G7 summit in Evian.
The tension reached its peak on Friday, when the US president, during a telephone intervention on the Italian show "L'Aria che tira" on the La7 channel, launched a personal attack on the Italian prime minister.
"He begged me to take a picture with him. I felt sorry for him," Trump's statement was interpreted, although according to some other versions, the American President actually said: "He wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't do it, but I felt sorry for him."
During a phone conversation with journalist Daniele Combattangelo, Trump, while commenting on international developments after the G7 summit, quickly turned the discussion to Meloni, repeating the claim that she had insisted on a joint photo.
The Italian prime minister's reaction was immediate and harsh. "Donald Trump's statements are completely fabricated. Honestly, I'm surprised. I don't know why the president of the United States chooses to behave in this way towards his allies," she wrote in an Instagram post.
Meloni also implied that the American president does not show the same harshness towards the West's opponents, emphasizing that Trump does not behave with the same determination towards the US's geopolitical rivals.
"One thing you should remember: neither Italy nor I ever beg anyone," she concluded.
The new clash comes just months after the first serious public rift between the two leaders. In April, Meloni called Trump's attacks on the Pope "unacceptable," prompting a strong response from the US president, who declared that the Italian prime minister "is no longer the same person" he had known.
Trump's comments sparked a wave of reactions in Italy, with senior government figures rushing to defend Meloni.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, declared that "whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us."
For his part, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani described Trump's statements as "serious and offensive to all of Italy," while Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he could not imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photo, while also criticizing the American president's "lack of tact."
The issue reached the highest institutional level, after the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, spoke by telephone with the Prime Minister, expressing his support and solidarity.
"We're still friends, but you left me"
Despite the tense climate, during the G7 summit in Evian, the two leaders tried to show that their relationship remains functional.
In an exchange of remarks in the presence of the President of the European Council, António Costa, the latter commented:
"Are you friends again?"
"We've always been friends," Meloni replied.
"Yes, but you abandoned me," Trump retorted, in a phrase that most characteristically described the distance that has already been created between the two leaders.
Despite efforts to reduce tensions, the public clash of recent days shows that the Trump-Meloni relationship is already in a deep phase of political cooling, where personal stings are obscuring the former ideological and political closeness between them.
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