A handful of contemptuous words upend Italian-American relations and draw rare cross-party condemnation in Rome.A diplomatic storm engulfed Rome on Friday after US president Donald Trump made a series of deeply dismissive remarks about Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.The comments, made during a phone-in interview with the Italian TV talk show L'Aria che tira on La7, were condemned across the Italian political spectrum as offensive and have triggered a rupture in relations between Italy and the United States. The crisis was set off after Trump claimed to have granted Meloni a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian because he "felt sorry for her" and that she had "begged" him for a photo, adding that Meloni "was probably glad I spoke to her - I wasn't obliged to speak to her!". Meloni denied the account categorically in a viral video, which was shared 30,000 times on X alone. She described Trump's account as "completely made up", and said she was "frankly stunned" by his remarks, adding that neither she nor Italy ever "begs" anyone. She added a pointed dig, expressing regret that Trump did not show the same resolve towards the enemies of the West. Io e l’Italia non imploriamo mai. pic.twitter.com/sTpKlqWB67 — Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 19, 2026 Trump later compounded the attack in an interview with NBC, saying he no longer wanted Meloni as a fan, and that neither she nor NATO had been present when it mattered — a reference to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The outburst appeared to confirm a collapse of the tentative rapprochement between the two leaders that had been cautiously celebrated at the G7 summit in Évian only days earlier.  Solidarity and consequences Italian president Sergio Mattarella telephoned Meloni to express his solidarity.  Italy's deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani swiftly cancelled a planned official visit to the US this weekend. Announcing his decision on social media, Tajani stated that Trump's words towards the prime minister were "serious and offensive" and that they insulted all of Italy. He said he had therefore decided to cancel his visit to the Italy-USA Business Forum in Miami where he had been due to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio. The Farnesina subsequently confirmed that the forum had been called off. Political reaction The incident prompted an unusually broad display of solidarity across Italy's normally fractious political landscape. Deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini, in a post on X, wrote: "Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us". Defence minister Guido Crosetto also weighed in, saying that he couldn't imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photo, "not even under threat", describing Trump's conduct as "a new lapse of style" that was good for nobody. One of the more unusual interventions came from senate speaker Ignazio La Russa - a senior figure in Meloni's rightwing Fratelli d'Italia party - who wrote on X that he would "bet on eating a live chicken" rather than believing that the premier would beg anyone. He slammed Trump's words as "cleary false", describing the episode as "an obvious attempt to get revenge on the Italian prime minister for not bending to the tycoon's whims". Opposition Opposition politicians were equally forthright, even as some sought to draw distinctions. Centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) Elly Schlein described the attacks as unacceptable and said they must be firmly repudiated, while urging the Italian right to open its eyes to the failure of its submissive approach towards Trump - an approach she argued had damaged the national interest on tariffs, military spending and foreign policy. PD senator Filippo Sensi offered solidarity to Meloni, calling Trump's words unacceptable in their arrogance and saying that no one had the right to treat Italy in such a manner. Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Movimento 5 Stelle, called the episode entirely unacceptable and said Italy did not deserve to be mortified so publicly, adding however that the habit of signing whatever Washington demanded and chasing photo opportunities could never take precedence over the national interest. Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, shared Meloni's video accompanied by two words: "Impeccable response". He later described Trump as a serial liar and a second-rate bully, expressing his personal disbelief that Meloni had implored anything, and said the insults had to be rejected as damaging to the honour of the nation. Matteo Renzi, former prime minister and leader of the centrist Italia Viva, said Trump's statements "were horrifying, as always", adding that he was glad that Meloni had finally noticed. Others were more pointed in their criticism of both Trump and Meloni. Nicola Fratoianni of the leftwing Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) said that he "almost felt like showing solidarity" but said the episode was a direct consequence of Italy's posture of "subserviance" towards Washington, describing it as a "grotesque situation that Italians don't deserve". Italian newspapers Trump's attack on Meloni dominated the front pages of all the major newspapers in Italy on Saturday. Il Messaggero ran with "Trump, insulto all'Italia" (Trump, insult to Italy); La Stampa's headline was "Trump-Meloni, scrontro totale" (Trump-Meloni, all-out clash); Il Giornale wrote "Italia non implora" (Italy doesn't beg); while the right-wing Libero raised eyebrows by publishing "Trump è un coglione" (Trump is a moron).  Photo credit: DT phots1 / Shutterstock.com

A diplomatic storm engulfed Rome on Friday after US president Donald Trump made a series of deeply dismissive remarks about Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. The comments, made during a phone-in interview with the Italian TV talk show L'Aria che tira on La7, were condemned across the Italian political spectrum as offensive and have triggered a rupture in relations between Italy and the United States. The crisis was set off after Trump claimed to have granted Meloni a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian because he "felt sorry for her" and that she had "begged" him for a photo, adding that Meloni "was probably glad I spoke to her - I wasn't obliged to speak to her!". Meloni denied the account categorically in a viral video, which was shared 30,000 times on X alone. She described Trump's account as "completely made up", and said she was "frankly stunned" by his remarks, adding that neither she nor Italy ever "begs" anyone. She added a pointed dig, expressing regret that Trump did not show the same resolve towards the enemies of the West. Io e l’Italia non imploriamo mai.  — Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni)  Trump later compounded the attack in an interview with NBC, saying he no longer wanted Meloni as a fan, and that neither she nor NATO had been present when it mattered — a reference to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The outburst appeared to confirm a collapse of the tentative rapprochement between the two leaders that had been cautiously celebrated at the G7 summit in Évian only days earlier.  Italian president Sergio Mattarella telephoned Meloni to express his solidarity.  Italy's deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani swiftly cancelled a planned official visit to the US this weekend. Announcing his decision on social media, Tajani stated that Trump's words towards the prime minister were "serious and offensive" and that they insulted all of Italy. He said he had therefore decided to cancel his visit to the Italy-USA Business Forum in Miami where he had been due to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio. The Farnesina subsequently confirmed that the forum had been called off. The incident prompted an unusually broad display of solidarity across Italy's normally fractious political landscape. Deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini, in a post on X, wrote: "Whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks all of us". Defence minister Guido Crosetto also weighed in, saying that he couldn't imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photo, "not even under threat", describing Trump's conduct as "a new lapse of style" that was good for nobody. One of the more unusual interventions came from senate speaker Ignazio La Russa - a senior figure in Meloni's rightwing Fratelli d'Italia party - who wrote on X that he would "bet on eating a live chicken" rather than believing that the premier would beg anyone. He slammed Trump's words as "cleary false", describing the episode as "an obvious attempt to get revenge on the Italian prime minister for not bending to the tycoon's whims". Opposition politicians were equally forthright, even as some sought to draw distinctions. Centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) Elly Schlein described the attacks as unacceptable and said they must be firmly repudiated, while urging the Italian right to open its eyes to the failure of its submissive approach towards Trump - an approach she argued had damaged the national interest on tariffs, military spending and foreign policy. PD senator Filippo Sensi offered solidarity to Meloni, calling Trump's words unacceptable in their arrogance and saying that no one had the right to treat Italy in such a manner. Former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Movimento 5 Stelle, called the episode entirely unacceptable and said Italy did not deserve to be mortified so publicly, adding however that the habit of signing whatever Washington demanded and chasing photo opportunities could never take precedence over the national interest. Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, shared Meloni's video accompanied by two words: "Impeccable response". He later described Trump as a serial liar and a second-rate bully, expressing his personal disbelief that Meloni had implored anything, and said the insults had to be rejected as damaging to the honour of the nation. Matteo Renzi, former prime minister and leader of the centrist Italia Viva, said Trump's statements "were horrifying, as always", adding that he was glad that Meloni had finally noticed. Others were more pointed in their criticism of both Trump and Meloni. Nicola Fratoianni of the leftwing Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) said that he "almost felt like showing solidarity" but said the episode was a direct consequence of Italy's posture of "subserviance" towards Washington, describing it as a "grotesque situation that Italians don't deserve". Trump's attack on Meloni dominated the front pages of all the major newspapers in Italy on Saturday. Il Messaggero ran with "Trump, insulto all'Italia" (Trump, insult to Italy); La Stampa's headline was "Trump-Meloni, scrontro totale" (Trump-Meloni, all-out clash); Il Giornale wrote "Italia non implora" (Italy doesn't beg); while the right-wing Libero raised eyebrows by publishing "Trump è un coglione" (Trump is a moron).  Photo credit: DT phots1 / Shutterstock.com