Relations between the United States and one of its closest European allies have come under renewed strain after Italy canceled a planned visit by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Washington in response to comments made by President Donald Trump about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Tajani, who had been scheduled to travel to the United States on June 21-22, said the decision was taken after Trump’s remarks were deemed offensive. “The serious and offensive words of President Trump have offended all of Italy,” Tajani wrote on the social media platform X on Friday, according to AFP.
The diplomatic dispute stems from comments Trump made to Italian broadcaster La7 about his meeting with Meloni during the Group of Seven summit. According to a transcript provided by the network, Trump said Meloni “really wanted to take a photo with him” at the summit and claimed he agreed out of “pity.” He also reportedly said Meloni may have been “happy that I spoke with her, I didn’t have to speak with her.”
The remarks triggered strong criticism in Italy. Meloni rejected the characterization, saying neither she nor Italy had ever requested preferential treatment. “I and Italy have never begged,” she wrote in a post on X.
She also questioned Trump’s tone toward an ally. “I do not know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies,” Meloni said, adding that she regretted Trump did not show similar firmness toward adversaries of the West.
Meloni had previously described the G7 summit in Evian on June 17, 2026, as positive, saying there were no tensions between Trump and other world leaders. However, the latest exchange underscores growing friction in what had been seen as a close political relationship.
Meloni has positioned herself as a bridge between Europe and Trump’s political network in the United States, but relations have become increasingly strained over differing views on the war in the Middle East.
In April, Trump also criticized Meloni after she defended Pope Leo XIV from his remarks on the pope’s anti-war stance. Trump later said he was surprised by Meloni’s position and suggested he had misjudged her political approach.
He also accused Meloni of failing to sufficiently support U.S. policy toward Iran during the conflict and threatened at the time to consider reducing the U.S. military presence in Italy, further complicating relations between the two governments.
