'You don't care about my popularity': Italian Meloni criticizes Donald Trump's 'nonsensical attacks'

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hit out at US President Donald Trump, condemning what she described as “continuous and unprovoked attacks” and dismissing his remarks as nonsense.

Her response further intensified a public row that erupted earlier this week after Trump claimed in an Italian television interview that Meloni “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit in France.

In an Instagram post, she said: “These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless. As for my popularity, being your friend certainly didn’t help, and it doesn’t depend on my relationship with you either. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interests, and that’s exactly what I’ve always done.”

This is also what I did regarding the US military bases in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements which we have always respected and which cannot be broken as long as I am Prime Minister. Italy remains a sovereign state. In any case, you don’t care about my popularity. I suggest you focus on yourself, she added.

Meloni previously called it “totally made up”. The dustup prompted Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government came to her defense.

US President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, claiming she repeatedly tried to take pictures with him during the recent G7 summit, and accused Italy of not providing enough support during the Iran conflict.

Read also | “Italy never begs”: Meloni criticizes Trump, foreign minister cancels US visit

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked me over and over for a photo with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media account while spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.

He continued: “Italy is doing poorly in terms of its popularity level, perhaps because it rejected the United States of America, a country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from acquiring or developing a nuclear weapon (but so does NATO!).

Trump’s statements were broadcast by the La7 network on Friday. Although the correspondent asked him about Ukraine, the US president brought up Meloni and repeated his claim that she repeatedly tried to take a picture with him. Trump said he had no obligation to pose for the photo, but agreed because he felt sorry for her, reports La7. The broadcaster later uploaded a dubbed version of the exchange online, but not the original English audio, the AP reported.

In the same post, Trump also criticized Meloni for allegedly refusing to allow the United States to use Italian airports and runways during the Iran conflict, despite Washington’s leading role in NATO defense spending.

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The complaint echoes Trump’s long-standing criticism of NATO allies over burden sharing, an issue he also raised during a White House meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Istanbul.

Italy, a key logistics partner of the United States, in March refused to allow US bombers bound for the Middle East to operate from a military base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.

Frustrated by the decision, Trump renewed his criticism of Meloni, saying on Saturday that he now “wants to be friends again” after a tentative deal between the US and Iran aimed at ending the war.

(With input from agencies)