Italy Cancels US Visit Over Trump’s Reported Comments on Meloni

Antonio Tajani said that Trump’s remarks about Italy’s prime minister had insulted all of Italy.
Italy Cancels US Visit Over Trump’s Reported Comments on Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, 2026. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Emel Akan
Emel Akan
Senior Reporter
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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has canceled a planned visit to the United States after a television channel reported that President Donald Trump said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had “begged” him for a photograph at the G7 summit.

Trump is reported as telling La7 TV channel on June 17 in a brief phone interview that he met the Italian leader at the G7, and when asked about how it went, he said: “I don’t know what to tell you! She 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!”

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Emel Akan is a senior White House correspondent for The Epoch Times, where she covers the policies of the Trump administration. Previously, she reported on the Biden administration and the first term of President Trump. Before her journalism career, she worked in investment banking at JPMorgan. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
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