US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Meloni. Photo: Collected

WASHINGTON, United States, June 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald 
Trump insisted on Saturday that Italian Prime Minister Meloni requested "over 
and over" for a photo with him at a G7 meeting earlier this week, further 
inflaming an extraordinary diplomatic dust up between the two allies.

"Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in 
France," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "She is doing poorly in 
Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the 
United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy."