Washington, June 21 (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump, renewed his attacks on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on Saturday, deepening a rift between the two leaders that erupted following the G7 summit.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump accused Meloni of refusing to support his military action against Iran, and said she was now seeking to repair relations with him, in order to boost her domestic popularity.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Trump wrote. “She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other “so-called” NATO Allies.”
Trump also repeated a claim that Meloni had “begged” him for a photograph during the G7 summit in France earlier this week, an allegation the Italian leader had dismissed in a fiery social media video as “completely fabricated.”
She said, “neither I nor Italy ever beg.” The president doubled down on Saturday, writing that Meloni, who had long been seen as one Trump’s key allies in Europe, had asked “over and over” for a photograph.
Meloni quickly fired back at Trump again on social media. In a statement on Instagram, Meloni wrote that Trump’s “constant, unprovoked” personal attacks were “senseless.” “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you,” she wrote.
Of Trump’s anger over Italy’s military bases, she said, “their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected and that cannot be violated. As long as I am prime minister, Italy remains a sovereign nation.”
The increasingly public feud has begun to spill over into official diplomatic relations. In response to Trump’s “serious and offensive” remarks, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday said, he had cancelled an upcoming visit to the US.
Meloni had long been viewed as a bridge between Europe and the United States, but relations with Trump have deteriorated in recent months. The Italian leader described Trump’s verbal attack on Pope Leo XIV as “unacceptable,” and has increasingly distanced herself from the US president on foreign policy issues.
She opposed Italian participation in US-Israeli military operations against Iran, and Italy is said to have denied several US aircraft permission to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily during the conflict.
GNA