Italian foreign minister cancels trip to US over Trump’s comments about Meloni
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Italy's Deputy PM and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani and PM Giorgia Meloni |
US President Donald Trump’s comments to an Italian media outlet about the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have sparked a fresh diplomatic incident.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Friday that he was canceling a planned trip to the United States, where he was slated to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in response to Trump’s reported remarks. Tajani called Trump’s claims “offensive,” while Meloni said they were “completely fabricated.”
It is the latest dip in the deteriorating relationship between the once-close leaders and a further fracture between the US and its European allies, coming after signs of repair at the G7 summit this week in France.
In an interview with Italy’s La7 TV, Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the summit, and he obliged because he felt sorry for her, according to a dubbed Italian translation posted by the outlet.
“She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Trump reportedly told the Italian La7 network. The broadcaster only published a dubbed Italian version of the interview, not the original English version.
“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.”
On Friday, Meloni posted a video answering Trump’s statement, saying that “certain things deserve an immediate response”.
“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said.
“I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”
The head of a far-right party who campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform, Meloni had long been seen as one of Trump’s most supportive counterparts in Europe.
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