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US President Donald Trump doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media on Friday, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The Italian PM also snapped back at Trump’s latest remarks on Saturday, writing on Instagram: “These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless”.
“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you,” she added.
The once close pair’s relations have grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his comments on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“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 Truth Social account on Saturday. “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”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
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