Giorgia Meloni expressed disappointment in her relationship with Trump, believing their shared views on immigration and cultural issues would facilitate cooperation.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has admitted that she expected her relationship with US President Donald Trump to be “easier”, given the ideological similarities between their governments. In an interview with The New York Times, Meloni said she had initially believed their shared positions on issues such as immigration and “woke culture” would make it easier to work with Trump.
“It is clear that, with Donald Trump, I thought things would be easier, given our convergence on immigration and woke culture. But things turned out differently,” Meloni said. Last month, the Italian Prime Minister accused Trump of fabricating claims that she had “begged” him for a photograph during the recent G7 summit, saying she was “astonished” by the remarks and insisting that “neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
The dramatic exchange marked the worsening ties between the two leaders, who had appeared to patch up earlier differences during the G7 summit in France.
Trump-Meloni tiff
The row erupted after Trump, in remarks carried by Italian broadcaster La7, claimed he had only spoken to Meloni out of sympathy.
“She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Trump was quoted as saying. He further claimed that the Italian leader had desperately wanted a picture with him.
“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,” Trump allegedly said, according to La7’s translation. The channel aired a dubbed version of the interview and did not release the original audio.
Once one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Europe and the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025, Meloni later distanced herself from the US president after criticising his attacks on Pope Leo over the Iran war. Trump, in turn, accused her of lacking courage, further straining ties between the two leaders.
