Trump, Italian PM trade barbs after G7 summit photo: 'I don't want her as a fan'
by NATALIA MITTELSTADT | The National News Desk
Fri, June 19, 2026 at 5:03 PM
WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traded barbs after a photo was taken of them together at the G7 summit, as he said he doesn't want her to be his fan.
"She was a big fan," Trump told NBC News's Gabe Gutierrez on Friday regarding Meloni. "But I don't want her as a fan because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the Strait."
Trump appeared to refer to his demands for European allies to be more involved in the U.S.'s efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
[Twitter embed from Gabe Gutierrez: "NEW: In phone call w/ @NBCNews, President Trump doubled down on his criticism of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. 'She was a big fan,' he said. 'But I don't want her as a fan because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the Strait.'" 5:10 PM · Jun 19, 2026]
The president's comment comes after Italy's La7 TV channel published a translated interview between the journalist and Trump without playing the original audio.
"She's probably happy I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her," Trump was quoted as saying about Meloni in a brief interview, Reuters reported.
"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," he added, according to La7's translation.
A video taken at the G7 summit, which took place earlier this week in Évian-les-Bains, France, showed Trump and Meloni talking while sitting on a couch, side by side.
After the La7 interview was published, Meloni responded in a video posted on X on Friday, saying about Trump in Italian, "There is one thing he must remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg," The Hill reported.
She added that she was "astounded" by Trump's comments, calling them "completely fabricated."
"I do not know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his allies — it is certainly not the first time this has happened," Meloni said.
"I can only say it is regrettable that he does not show the same determination against the enemies of the West and the United States — against leaderships with whom he actually proves to be much more accommodating."
[Twitter embed from Giorgia Meloni: "Io e l'Italia non imploriamo mai." (English: "Neither I nor Italy ever beg.") 10:29 AM · Jun 19, 2026]
Shortly before Meloni's video post, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced he was canceling a visit to the U.S. scheduled for next week, saying Trump's comments about Meloni "offend all of Italy."
"The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June," Tajani said.
While Trump previously appeared to have a good relationship with Meloni, that seems to have changed since she defended the pope's criticisms of the U.S.'s war with Iran.
