US President Donald Trump’s comments to an Italian media outlet about the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have sparked a fresh diplomatic incident.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Friday that he was canceling a planned trip to the United States, where he was slated to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in response to Trump’s reported remarks. Tajani called Trump’s claims “offensive,” while Meloni said they were “completely fabricated.”

It is the latest dip in the deteriorating relationship between the once-close leaders and a further fracture between the US and its European allies, coming after signs of repair at the G7 summit this week in France.

In an interview with Italy’s La7 TV, Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the summit, and he obliged because he felt sorry for her, according to a dubbed Italian translation posted by the outlet.

“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 said.

Meloni refuted the comments in a sharply worded video posted on Friday morning, saying they deserved “an immediate response.”

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I’m frankly shocked. I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way towards his own allies, and it’s not the first time it’s happened,” she said in the video posted on X.

“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States, with leaderships with which he instead appears much more accommodating,” she continued.

“But you must remember one thing: Italy and I never beg,” Meloni said.

Tajani was scheduled to come to the US early next week and attend the Italy-US Business, Investment, Science and Innovation Forum in Miami. According to a statement from the State Department, Rubio was slated to meet with his Italian counterpart “to advance U.S.-Italy bilateral cooperation on economic security and critical minerals.” That forum was canceled later on Friday.

CNN has reached out to the White House and US State Department for comment.

In an interview with NBC News later Friday, Trump redoubled his criticism of Meloni, saying, “I don’t want her as a fan because she was not there – along with the NATO group – having to do with the Strait,” a reference to a perceived lack of support during the Iran war.

It is not the first spat between Trump and Meloni. Earlier this year, the right-wing Italian leader called Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo XIV over his opposition to the war against Iran “unacceptable.” Trump then criticized Meloni and Italy more broadly for what he said was a failure to sufficiently help the US in the conflict.

Meloni has widely been regarded as Trump’s staunchest western European ally, although this relationship has been strained by her refusal to participate in the war with Iran.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, populist and conservative Meloni captured the attention of Trump and his advisers and she was the only European leader to attend his second inauguration.

The two have overlapped on issues such as strict immigration policies and national sovereignty.

Trump has been known in the past to shower Meloni with strong personal praise, contrasting with his hostile approach to other European leaders. (CNN)

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