Italian FM cancels US visit over reported Trump comments

[demmiblue]

Source: Yahoo/AFP

Italy's foreign minister on Friday cancelled a visit to the United States over reported comments by US President Donald Trump that appeared to mock Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"The grave and offensive words of President Trump... offend the whole of Italy," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been due to visit the US on June 21 and 22, said on X.

Meloni said she was "stunned" by Trump's comments to Italian channel La7 in which, according to a transcript provided by the network, he said Meloni "wanted a picture with me so badly" at the G7 summit and he agreed only because he "felt sorry for her".

He also suggested that Meloni might be "happy that I talked to her, I didn't have to talk to her".

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/italian-fm-cancels-us-visit-111808632.html

[Sanity Claws]

1. Exactly how all should handle the felon

[Justice matters.]

31. Yep. Nobody wanted to "visit" Hitler except Chamberlain...

And his "visit" didn't last long.

[Hugin]

2. Yet, he remains POTUS.

Pathetic.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Good move on Italy's part.

Trump can't help himself. His mind is always stuck on Men's Locker Room mode.

[demmiblue]

4. Hmm...

Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, had a few words for Senile Satan at the G7 Summit.

— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) 2026-06-18T00:23:58.018Z

Giorgia Meloni, "We are optimistic Trump will come?"

French official, "He will come, he said he will come"

Giorgia Meloni, "He's 45 minutes late"

— Farrukh (@implausibleblog.bsky.social) 2026-06-16T20:18:42.399Z

[Prairie Gates]

5. This is not a repairable rift - Meloni cannot let this go and stay in her job

Trump is having a tantrum because Italy refused to assist with the Strait and even forbid "offensive" flights from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily. Before that, Trump did not consult with Meloni or other European allies before launching the war, with Meloni being the most humiliated of the bunch, since the Italian Defense Minister (Guido Crosetto) was literally vacationing with his family in Dubai on the day the war started.

Meloni has also pissed Trump off in other ways by being a big supporter of Ukraine and NATO; she also had a domestic political need to distance herself from Trump on trade (a pasta tariff was floated as punishment for unfair trading practices). She's a shrewd character who dropped her best friend Orban at the drop of a hat as soon as the political winds shifted.

Culturally, for Trump to say that Meloni was "begging him" for a picture is just a massive insult and loss of face that is not acceptable in an Italian context. She certainly pulled Tajani's trip to Miami. More consequences will follow. Italy has already added new barriers to Italian-Americans getting dual citizenship in recent years. I expect that these will now increase substantially. They will also slow-walk consular functions. They have a lot of little levers, especially on tourism (which is a domestic political problem anyway), to make Americans and Italian-Americans suffer.

Since most Italian-Americans are (unfortunately) conservative Trump voters, there's a hint of justice to it.

[hlthe2b]

7. Italian FM should post multiple photos of Meloni with Pope Leo...

No comment needed...

[Gaytano70]

11. Not all Italian-Americans...

Just to be very clear, I don't think it's helpful or true to say "most" about any ethnic group. This type of monolithic stereotyping caused Japanese-Americans to be forced into concentration camps in WWII. Choose your words carefully. Grazie 🇮🇹

[Prairie Gates]

17. I didn't say all, and I think "most" is demographically accurate

Obviously, there is a wide variety of opinion within a very expansive range of "Italian-Americanness." It's hard to put the guy in Queens who grew up with an immigrant parent whose native language was a Neapolitan dialect in the same demographic soup as Jared Lombardo from Naperville who has never heard a word of Italian outside of a Sopranos episode in his life. To be sure.

There's some data on this from Calandra, in any case.

[NNadir]

16. My wife is an Italian American and thus my sons are as well.

They all reside strongly on the political left.

At the time I met my wife I was turned on, I sheepishly confess, by her looks, but I fell in love with her for, among many things, her politics.

[Cha]

40. PEDO has Foot and Mouth Disease,

And I hope he really stepped into it, turning the Italian Americans, who vote for him, away.They shouldn't be voting for a Rapist, Pedophile, Homicidal Maniac, anyway.

And the ugly things he says about Pope Leo.. why would they tolerate that?!

I very much appreciate your take on this, Prairie Gats. My sister and her family recently had a wonderful vacation in Italy. I know they want to return someday.

I really do hope the repercussions from his diseased mouth are brutal.

[Lovie777]

6. How could any sane person be stunned by shithole?............

[Prairie Gates]

8. Here's what Meloni said on Instagram

Certe cose meritano una risposta immediata: le dichiarazioni di Donald Trump sono totalmente inventate, sono francamente allibita. Non so perché il Presidente degli Stati Uniti si comporti così con i propri alleati, non è del resto la prima volta che accade. Posso solo dire che dispiace che non abbia la stessa determinazione con i nemici dell'Occidente, con i nemici degli Stati Uniti, con leadership con le quali invece si dimostra molto più accondiscendente. Però una cosa se la deve ricordare: io e l'Italia non imploriamo mai

My translation:

Certain things require an immediate response: the declarations of Donald Trump are totally invented; they are, frankly, dumbfounding. I don't know why the President of the United States behaves this way with his actual allies, and it's not the first time that it has happened. I can only say that it's unfortunate that he doesn't have the same determination with the enemies of the West, with the enemies of the United States; with their leadership he shows himself to be much more accommodating. There is, however, one thing that he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg for anything.

[70sEraVet]

15. I certainly agree with her about trump being too 'accommodating'....

with our real enemies!

[Prairie Gates]

20. For those paying attention

That's how an Italian woman calls you a p-word.

[PatSeg]

18. Well, that's what the voices in his head

keep telling him.

[twodogsbarking]

9. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement " Vaffanculo, coglione".

[erronis]

19. With the appropriate arm gesture.

I'm sure there's an animated meme out there for this.

https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExa2Qxbjdud2Q0MmVlczhzYTdtbzVieTEwem5qOGFnYTBtcjZqZDhkaSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/8bQdMxDSJ8oiQ/200w.webp

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. This is what foreign leaders SHOULD be doing

Cancel visits. Take umbrage. Recall ambassadors.

STOP pretending he is normal and not a Child Rapist. MENTION his criminal behavior, convictions, and sexual crimes. CONSTANTLY. DAILY!

[sop]

12. "Senile Satan"

I like that, should be his new title...

[Torchlight]

13. Her rebuke of him is priceless

and I think pretty indicative of how all rational world leaders perceive him... a shameless buffoon performing witless stage-tricks for nickels and dimes whom must be tolerated on occasion for no reason other than decorum (like my drunk Uncle Lloyd at family holidays)

[33taw]

14. it is what our press should do. Don't give him air.

[AverageOldGuy]

22. Video?

I recall seeing video yesterday of her chewing Trump's ass -- all 4' 7" of her, shaking her finger in his face and chewing him out like a drill sergeant on a recruit!!!

[twodogsbarking]

23. I hope Obama invites her to visit.

[TommyT139]

32. Why would he invite a fascist?

Just because she has contempt for Trump doesn't mean she is a good leader.

From "Giorgia Meloni and the return of fascism: how Italy got here" (Sept. 2022) - a longish article, but a good one, albeit a bit dated.

Meloni can gaslight the public by making fascist assertions while claiming fascism no longer exists. Importantly, those who warn that fascism is making a comeback are derided as irrational. ...

Meloni opposes same-sex marriage, wants to put significant curbs on access to abortion to address the “emergency” of Italy’s declining birth rate and has made explicit references to Europe’s supposed “Judeo-Christian” roots. The latter is a common Islamophobic trope that has long formed a key part of European far-right ideology.

Her racism is also evident in a depiction of immigration as an invasion – via calls for a naval blockade and portrayal of “undocumented migration” as a UN plot. This plays willingly on racist “great replacement” narratives.

https://theconversation.com/giorgia-meloni-and-the-return-of-fascism-how-italy-got-here-190866

[twodogsbarking]

33. Well, it was a joke, but now that is lost.

[chouchou]

36. It's not lost ..Get Obama to invite Donald Trump for a barbeque at Obama's house..

[twodogsbarking]

37. Trump turned down the invitation. He has to put chemicals in his pool.

[Callie1979]

35. I'll choose to replay her speech on the dangers of NOT backing UKR against russia.

And it a well known fact that one of Putins plans to weaken the EU is to flood them with migrants. This isnt new. He's been caught trying to do it to the Baltics from Belarus.
This is 5 years ago. It still applies today.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/13/europe/belarus-lithuania-border-migrants-eu-cmd-intl

[Polybius]

39. What she said and did as a young woman is irrelevant now

She hasn't governed as a "fascist" in any sense, and has been quite pro-Ukraine. At best, she's a non-MAGA, John McCain Republican without the war.

[TommyT139]

41. No thanks. Racist, homophobic, anti-bodily autonomy...

Trying to rebrand while still maintaining ultra-conservative values is simply savvy on her part, not a change of heart.

[COL Mustard]

24. I'm surprised he didn't send her

A dick pic. He's that crude now.

(I know, he's always been that crude, but he has less of a filter now)

[dave99]

26. fhat tinnie thing

[Martin68]

25. Barbarians.

[AllyCat]

27. Typical woman-hating narcissist

[Wednesdays]

28. And Meloni heads a RIGHT-WING GOVERNMENT more inline with his agenda

Geez, how inept can he be at diplomacy?

[3catwoman3]

29. He is...

...SUCH a clod!

No graces, no refinement, no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

30. Donny's ego and his mouth once again get in the way

[BattleRow]

38. As someone here on DU posted a while back..

Alligator mouth overloading hummingbird ass...

Although hummingbird may need revision...

[Evolve Dammit]

34. Typical dick-headed codswallop, from convicted felon mob boss

[LetMyPeopleVote]

42. Furious right-wing Italian paper brands Trump with a vulgar term in scorching op-ed

This makes me smile. This paper is calling trump out for being an asshole

A right-wing Italian paper went after Trump with a vulgar name amid his spat with the country's prime minister.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-06-20T16:00:10.761Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-italian/

A right-wing Italian paper went after Trump with a vulgar name amid his spat with the country's prime minister.

"Sorry to say it, but I can't find, and perhaps there isn't, another way to say it," a translation of the Italian article from the Libero Quotidiano reads. "Donald Trump is an a—."

The article uses the Italian term "coglione," even using it in the headline, as it blasted Trump for ruining progress towards a friendly relationship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by telling an Italian news network that she "begged" him for a photo during the G7 summit. Meloni denied the account and accused Trump of making it up in a fierce response that tore into him.

"Only an a— could ruin everything with a lie so huge as to become ridiculous," the article read. "Why say such nonsense? The answer can only be found in the definition of the word 'a—' which has entered the popular jargon of the Italian language: an inept, stupid person who acts with little intelligence."

Trump stood by his claim that Meloni was a "big fan" of his in comments to NBC News on Friday. Meanwhile, Meloni was cheered on across the world, even called "fabulous," for firing back at Trump.

Although the article attacks "the inadequacy of the American president," it does strike a sympathetic tone by admitting, "it is not the case to declare war on America," and "we do not deny it, we too had placed many hopes" in Trump.