US President Donald Trump on Saturday kept up his attacks on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, claiming she repeatedly sought a photograph with him during the recent Group of Seven summit and saying she was “doing poorly” politically in Italy.
The remarks escalated a dispute that erupted earlier this week after Trump, in an interview with an Italian broadcaster, said Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him at the G7 meeting in France. Meloni dismissed the claim as “completely fabricated.”
The controversy prompted Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as members of Meloni’s government rallied behind her.
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‘Doing poorly in Italy’: Trump on Meloni
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
He added: “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”
Trump’s comments were first aired Friday on the La7 network.
According to the broadcaster, a correspondent had asked the president about Ukraine, but Trump instead brought up Meloni and repeated his claim about the photograph.
Trump said he was under no obligation to pose for the picture but agreed because he felt sorry for her. La7 later uploaded a dubbed version of the exchange but not the original English audio.
Also Read | Meloni hits back hard at Trump on camera and questions why he ‘treats allies worse than enemies’
Trump blasts Meloni’s refusal for landing strips and runways
In his latest post, Trump also criticised Meloni for refusing to allow the US to use Italian landing strips and runways during the war with Iran, despite Washington being one of NATO’s biggest defense spenders.
Trump has long complained about burden-sharing within the alliance, an issue he also raised during his White House meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday and ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Turkey.
Italy, an important logistics hub for the U.S., declined in March to allow American bombers bound for the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.
Trump further claimed on Saturday that Meloni “wants to be friends again” following the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the conflict.
