US President Donald Trump has attacked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the G7 Summit, where they were supposed to have bridged the gap between them following the American leader's public criticism of his failure to help Iran.
In a phone interview with "L'Aria che tira" on La7, the American president said ironically that Meloni is happy to talk and take pictures with him.
"Meloni is probably happy that I talked to her. I wasn't forced to talk to her. She asked me to take a picture with her, she loved it so much. I might not have done it at all, but in the end I felt sorry for her," he said.
The interview began with a question about Ukraine and its possible future membership in the European Union.
"I'm not involved in this issue, we just want peace," Trump said as he refocused the conversation on his relationship with Meloni.
"How is your prime minister? How is she?" Trump said, as the presenter reminded him that he had seen her two days earlier at the G7 summit in France.
"What did she say when she met me? She's probably glad I talked to her! I didn't need to! I don't know what to say! She asked me to take a picture with her! She really wanted a picture with me. I wouldn't have done it, but I felt sorry for her!" Trump added.
During the leaders' seventh meeting in France, Donald Trump's tone seemed to have softened, so much so that, after watching them speak, Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, commented: "You are friends again," to which Meloni immediately replied: "We have always been friends."
The US president did not seem to fully agree, taking the opportunity to launch an attack on his ally: "But you have abandoned me," he commented, referring to the fact that Italy had not provided military or strategic assistance to the US-Israeli war against Iran.