President Trump is digging in on his criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, repeating his accusation that she \u201cbegged\u201d him for a photo at the Group of Seven (G7) summit earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two heads of state, who previously enjoyed a friendly relationship, have butted heads over the Iran war. They both traveled to \u00c9vian-les-Bains, France, this past week for the annual conference and participated in discussions with other foreign leaders about global conflicts and joint initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, repeating his previous accusation about the Italian leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president accused Meloni of \u201cdoing poorly\u201d in popularity ratings in her country \u201cbecause she turned down\u201d his administration\u2019s calls for European allies to aid its military efforts against Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian prime minister previously raised concerns about an attack on an Iranian school and defended the Vatican\u2019s criticism of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her \u2018numbers up.\u2019 No thanks!!!\u201d Trump wrote in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, Meloni called Trump\u2019s characterization of their interaction at the G7 summit \u201ccompletely fabricated,\u201d and she said in a video posted to social media that she was \u201castounded\u201d by his comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do not know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his allies \u2014 it is certainly not the first time this has happened,\u201d Meloni said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can only say it is regrettable that he does not show the same determination against the enemies of the West and the United States \u2014 against leaderships with whom he actually proves to be much more accommodating,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a visit to the U.S. planned for next week on Friday over the dispute, writing in a social media post that the president\u2019s \u201cserious and offensive words\u201d about the Italian leader \u201coffend all of Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n