Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

demmiblue

(40,060 posts)
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:17 AM 23 hrs ago

Italian FM cancels US visit over reported Trump comments

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

41 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Italian FM cancels US visit over reported Trump comments (Original Post) demmiblue 23 hrs ago OP
Exactly how all should handle the felon Sanity Claws 23 hrs ago #1
Yep. Nobody wanted to "visit" Hitler except Chamberlain... Justice matters. 18 hrs ago #31
Yet, he remains POTUS. Hugin 22 hrs ago #2
Good move on Italy's part. Baitball Blogger 22 hrs ago #3
Hmm... demmiblue 22 hrs ago #4
This is not a repairable rift - Meloni cannot let this go and stay in her job Prairie Gates 22 hrs ago #5
Italian FM should post multiple photos of Meloni with Pope Leo... hlthe2b 22 hrs ago #7
Not all Italian-Americans... Gaytano70 22 hrs ago #11
I didn't say all, and I think "most" is demographically accurate Prairie Gates 21 hrs ago #17
My wife is an Italian American and thus my sons are as well. NNadir 21 hrs ago #16
PEDO has Foot and Mouth Disease, Cha 11 hrs ago #40
How could any sane person be stunned by shithole?............ Lovie777 22 hrs ago #6
Here's what Meloni said on Instagram Prairie Gates 22 hrs ago #8
I certainly agree with her about trump being too 'accommodating'.... 70sEraVet 21 hrs ago #15
For those paying attention Prairie Gates 21 hrs ago #20
This message was self-deleted by its author wyn borkins 21 hrs ago #21
Well, that's what the voices in his head PatSeg 21 hrs ago #18
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement " Vaffanculo, coglione". twodogsbarking 22 hrs ago #9
With the appropriate arm gesture. erronis 21 hrs ago #19
This is what foreign leaders SHOULD be doing Miguelito Loveless 22 hrs ago #10
"Senile Satan" sop 22 hrs ago #12
Her rebuke of him is priceless Torchlight 22 hrs ago #13
it is what our press should do. Don't give him air. 33taw 21 hrs ago #14
Video? AverageOldGuy 21 hrs ago #22
I hope Obama invites her to visit. twodogsbarking 20 hrs ago #23
Why would he invite a fascist? TommyT139 18 hrs ago #32
Well, it was a joke, but now that is lost. twodogsbarking 17 hrs ago #33
It's not lost ..Get Obama to invite Donald Trump for a barbeque at Obama's house.. chouchou 15 hrs ago #36
Trump turned down the invitation. He has to put chemicals in his pool. twodogsbarking 14 hrs ago #37
I'll choose to replay her speech on the dangers of NOT backing UKR against russia. Callie1979 16 hrs ago #35
What she said and did as a young woman is irrelevant now Polybius 12 hrs ago #39
No thanks. Racist, homophobic, anti-bodily autonomy... TommyT139 4 hrs ago #41
I'm surprised he didn't send her COL Mustard 20 hrs ago #24
fhat tinnie thing dave99 20 hrs ago #26
Barbarians. Martin68 20 hrs ago #25
Typical woman-hating narcissist AllyCat 20 hrs ago #27
And Meloni heads a RIGHT-WING GOVERNMENT more inline with his agenda Wednesdays 19 hrs ago #28
He is... 3catwoman3 19 hrs ago #29
Donny's ego and his mouth once again get in the way Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin 18 hrs ago #30
As someone here on DU posted a while back.. BattleRow 12 hrs ago #38
Typical dick-headed codswallop, from convicted felon mob boss Evolve Dammit 17 hrs ago #34

Justice matters.

(10,200 posts)
31. Yep. Nobody wanted to "visit" Hitler except Chamberlain...
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 01:01 PM
18 hrs ago

And his "visit" didn't last long.

Baitball Blogger

(52,848 posts)
3. Good move on Italy's part.
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:24 AM
22 hrs ago

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

demmiblue

(40,060 posts)
4. Hmm...
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:24 AM
22 hrs ago

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

(8,637 posts)
5. This is not a repairable rift - Meloni cannot let this go and stay in her job
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:29 AM
22 hrs ago

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

(115,120 posts)
7. Italian FM should post multiple photos of Meloni with Pope Leo...
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:35 AM
22 hrs ago

No comment needed...

Gaytano70

(1,297 posts)
11. Not all Italian-Americans...
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:05 AM
22 hrs ago

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

(8,637 posts)
17. I didn't say all, and I think "most" is demographically accurate
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:54 AM
21 hrs ago

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

(38,817 posts)
16. My wife is an Italian American and thus my sons are as well.
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:50 AM
21 hrs ago

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

(321,451 posts)
40. PEDO has Foot and Mouth Disease,
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:20 PM
11 hrs ago

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.

Prairie Gates

(8,637 posts)
8. Here's what Meloni said on Instagram
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 08:43 AM
22 hrs ago

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

(5,722 posts)
15. I certainly agree with her about trump being too 'accommodating'....
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:45 AM
21 hrs ago

with our real enemies!

Response to Prairie Gates (Reply #8)

Miguelito Loveless

(6,021 posts)
10. This is what foreign leaders SHOULD be doing
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:00 AM
22 hrs ago

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!

Torchlight

(7,188 posts)
13. Her rebuke of him is priceless
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 09:20 AM
22 hrs ago

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)

AverageOldGuy

(4,332 posts)
22. Video?
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 10:19 AM
21 hrs ago

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!!!

TommyT139

(2,485 posts)
32. Why would he invite a fascist?
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 01:18 PM
18 hrs ago

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

Callie1979

(1,476 posts)
35. I'll choose to replay her speech on the dangers of NOT backing UKR against russia.
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 02:31 PM
16 hrs ago

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

(22,265 posts)
39. What she said and did as a young woman is irrelevant now
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 06:58 PM
12 hrs ago

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

(2,485 posts)
41. No thanks. Racist, homophobic, anti-bodily autonomy...
Sat Jun 20, 2026, 02:41 AM
4 hrs ago

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

COL Mustard

(8,477 posts)
24. I'm surprised he didn't send her
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 10:32 AM
20 hrs ago

A dick pic. He's that crude now.

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

Wednesdays

(23,405 posts)
28. And Meloni heads a RIGHT-WING GOVERNMENT more inline with his agenda
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 11:46 AM
19 hrs ago

Geez, how inept can he be at diplomacy?

BattleRow

(2,736 posts)
38. As someone here on DU posted a while back..
Fri Jun 19, 2026, 06:40 PM
12 hrs ago

Alligator mouth overloading hummingbird ass...

Although hummingbird may need revision...

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Italian FM cancels US vis...