Meloni says Trump made up the claim that she begged him for a photo

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hit back at claims that she begged Trump for a photo, saying, ‘Italy and I never beg.’

Io e l’Italia non imploriamo mai. pic.twitter.com/sTpKlqWB67

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 19, 2026

Two right-wingers are fighting. It must be a day ending with “day.”

The backstory is that Trump was asked about his encounter with Meloni during the G7 summit in France. Trump claimed that Meloni ‘wanted to have a picture with me so badly’ and that he ‘felt sorry for her.

According to POLITICO, the two leaders met several times at the three-day G7 gathering in Evian for the first time since their public spat in April when Meloni called Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo “unacceptable,” prompting the American president to say Meloni was “no longer the same person” he once knew.

Meloni — Defence spending

Apart from defending Pope Leo, the right-wing Italian leader had also denied the use of an air base in Sicily for the US’s war on Iran.

Further, Italy this week confirmed it will not fund the purchase of US weapons due to be delivered to Ukraine, the latest sign that Meloni’s government is seeking to place limits on its defence spending, according to Defense News.

According to a recent report from Euractiv, polls in Italy are showing widespread scepticism toward increased military spending.

Meanwhile, Hegseth this week slammed Europe for not increasing defence spending fast enough. Hegseth told his NATO counterparts as they met in Brussels.

Hegseth yelled at his NATO counterparts as they met in Brussels:

This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.

It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours.

By The Canary