Rome rallies behind Meloni as Trump rift deepens into trade threat

The row between Rome and Washington has escalated sharply since Trump claimed at the G7 summit in France that Meloni 'begged' for a photograph with him. In a video posted to social media on Friday, Meloni rejected the claim as 'completely made up', stating: 'Neither I nor Italy ever beg.' The Italian government called Trump's remarks 'serious and offensive', according to reporting by Le Monde and the BBC. On Friday, Italy's top diplomat cancelled a scheduled trip to the United States, a symbolic gesture that underscored the depth of the diplomatic rupture.

Across Rome's political spectrum, the response has been unusually unified. Le Monde reported that Italy has rallied behind Meloni despite the two leaders having been close allies until recent weeks. The row marks an escalation of divisions that surfaced earlier in the spring over the Middle East and the Pope—issues on which Trump and Meloni have starkly different positions. Meloni's response to Trump's jab that she 'focus on your own popularity', according to the BBC, has resonated with Italian lawmakers and the public as a defence of national dignity.

The deeper concern in Italian government circles, however, is economic. Le Monde reported that officials in Rome fear trade retaliation from the Trump administration. Italy's exports to the United States and the threat of tariffs on Italian goods—from automobiles to luxury products—have become the unspoken anxiety beneath the public show of unity. The cancellation of the diplomatic visit signals that Rome intends to hold firm, but the cost of sustained tension with Washington remains uncertain.