Trump said that the Italian Prime Minister is trying to raise her rating at the expense of friendship with him
US President Donald Trump has escalated his public spat with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Malone, accusing her of trying to use her friendship with him to boost her own popularity.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump repeated his previous claims that Malone repeatedly asked him for a photo during the G7 summit.
“Her approval rating in Italy is currently low, perhaps because she turned down the United States of America – a country that truly loves and protects Italy – when it came to preventing Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons… She wouldn’t even let us use Italian runways, which caused great logistical inconveniences,” Trump wrote.
The day before, Trump also said that the head of the Italian government allegedly insisted on a photo with her during the summit.
“She begged me to take a picture with her! She wanted to take a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have done it, but I felt sorry for her,” he said.
In response, Giorgia Maloney released a statement refuting Trump’s words and expressing outrage at his comments about US allies.
Amid the scandal, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the United States in the coming days.
This was another escalation in relations between Trump and Malone after previous public disagreements over the situation in the Middle East. For now, the dispute between the leaders continues to affect the political dialogue between Washington and Rome.
