'I am not anti-American...': Italian PM Meloni opens up days after public spat with Trump
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'I am not anti-American...': Italian PM Meloni opens up days after public spat with Trump")
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni says she is "not anti-American" but also "not kneeling" after Donald Trump's controversial remarks about her sparked a diplomatic row. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled his US visit, while Trump also criticised Europe over immigration and energy.
Amid recent controversy with US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday (June 29) said that she is not anti-American but also not “kneeling.”' Batting for a truce with the US president, Meloni said that she believes West is stronger when it is united. She also clarified that she is not anti-American.
"I am not anti-American today; I was not kneeling yesterday. I am a person who believes that the West is stronger united, who believes that Italy is stronger in a united West, and has worked and continues to work for this. After that, however, solid relationships are also based on frankness, and I am a frank person," Meloni said while speaking about Italy-US relations to an Italian news agency Adnkronos.
Earlier this month, Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani announced the cancellation of his planned visit to Miami for a business forum, after the controversy over Trump's comments on Meloni. "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 wrote on X.
What Trump said after G7?
Trump and Meloni had multiple interactions at the June 2026 G7 summit in France. After the summit, speaking exclusively in a phone interview with Italian broadcaster La7, Trump said that Meloni "begged me to take a photo with her. She wanted a photo with me so badly. I might not have done it, but I felt sorry for her." He asked the correspondent: “How is your Prime Minister? How is she?” When asked to further comment on the conversation he had with Meloni on the sidelines of the Evian summit, Trump added, “She's probably happy I spoke to her. I wasn't obliged to speak to her.” Trump slammed Europeans in the same conversation and said that they got everything wrong on energy and everything wrong on immigration, adding that if they do not solve these problems, Europe will never be the same. He described immigration and energy as a “disaster."
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Later, in a Truth Social post, the US president claimed Meloni had asked "over and over" for photographs throughout the summit and suggested she was attempting to improve ties with Washington for domestic political reasons. "Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again to get her 'numbers up.' No thanks!!!" Trump wrote. He suggested that Meloni was doing “poorly in Italy.”
How Meloni reacted?
Meloni rejected the claims made by Trump and described it as entirely “made up.” accused the US president of launching "constant, unprovoked... senseless" attacks and insisted that her standing with Italian voters had nothing to do with her relationship with Trump. Meloni also said, "In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours." Later, speaking at an event in Rome, Meloni signalled that she wanted to move beyond the dispute, saying she had no intention of prolonging the row. "I don't intend to keep fuelling this dispute," the Italian leader said.
