Trump insists Italy’s Meloni sought photos with him to boost popularity

US president’s comments escalate a row between the once-close leaders that has emerged during the conflict with Iran.United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on criticism of Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, claiming she repeatedly sought photo opportunities with him at the recent G7 summit to bolster her domestic popularity.Trump’s latest comments in a post on Truth Social on Saturday deepen a personal row between Trump and the right-wing Italian leader, who was long viewed as one of the US president’s top allies in Europe.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Italy officials slam ‘shameful’ idea of taking Iran’s place at World Cuplist 2 of 3Italy-US ties strained as pope and Iran war dominate talkslist 3 of 3Why has Italy’s Giorgia Meloni suspended a defence pact with Israel?end of listTrump had initially told Italian media on Thursday that Meloni “begged” him for a picture at the G7 summit in France, saying he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her”.Meloni responded that she was “stunned” by the “made-up” claim.But Trump fired back in his Saturday post, saying the Italian prime minister had asked “over and over” for a photograph.He accused her of trying to repair relations with Washington for domestic political reasons after Italy failed to support US action against Iran.“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!” Trump wrote.Meloni rejected Trump’s latest remarks on Saturday.“President Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless,” Meloni said on social media platform Instagram. “My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” she added.In his post, Trump also revived his long-running complaint that the US spends heavily to protect “so-called” NATO allies, saying Washington contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Italy and others.