If we had a diplomat who went fishing for opportunities to publicly insult the leader of a friendly nation, we’d fire that diplomat and replace him with someone more diplomatic.
So why on earth have we not fired Donald Trump for needlessly insulting Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni?
On Friday morning, Italian broadcaster LA7 aired a telephone interview its White House correspondent Daniele Compatangelo conducted with Trump. LA7 dubbed the interview into Italian, so we don’t have the original English audio. I have used Google Translate to turn the Italian subtitles back into English, so we’re playing two steps of Telephone.
| Daniele Compatangelo interviewing Donald Trump, “La telefonata esclusiva di Trump a La7: ‘Meloni? Mi ha implorato per una foto, mi ha fatto pena’,” LA7, 2026.06.19. | English retranslation by Google Translate, with editing by CAH/DFP |
| Trump: Ciao. | Trump: Hello. |
| Compatangelo: Ciao, signor Presidente. Buona serata. Sono Daniele Compatangelo, corrispondente della Casa Bianca. | Compatangelo: Hello, Mr. President. Good evening. I’m Daniele Compatangelo, White House correspondent. |
| Trump: Dimmi. | Trump: Tell me. |
| Compatangelo: Ho due domande su Ucraina e Hezbollah, se permette. Se l’Ucraina continua a mostrare interesse nel perseguire una futura adesione all’UE, potrebbe questo complicare i suoi sforzi per raggiungere un accordo con il presidente Putin? L’Ucraina dovrebbe rimanere neutrale? Cosa può portrare fine di questo conflitto? | Compatangelo: I have two questions regarding Ukraine and Hezbollah, if I may. If Ukraine continues to show interest in pursuing future EU membership, could this complicate its efforts to reach an agreement with President Putin? Should Ukraine remain neutral? What can bring this conflict to an end? |
| Trump: Non sono coinvolto in questa questione. Noi vogliamo soltanto la pace. Come sta il suo Primo Ministro? Come sta? | Trump: I am not involved in this question. We just want peace. How is your Prime Minister? How is she? |
| Compatangelo: Beh, vi siete appena incontrati al G7. Che ne pensa? Che ne pensa della conversazione che avete avuto seduti su quel piccolo divano? | Compatangelo: Well, you just met at the G7. What do you think? What do you think about the conversation you had while sitting on the small sofa? |
| Trump: Cosa ha detto quando mi ha incontrato? | Trump: What did she say when she met me? |
| Compatangelo: Immagino che fosse felice di incontrarla e di avere un amico come lei? | Compatangelo: I imagine she was happy to meet you and to have a friend like you? |
| Trump: Probabilmente è contenta che io le abbia parlato! Non ero obligato a parlarle! | Trump: She’s probably glad I spoke to her! I wasn’t obliged to speak to her! |
| Compatangelo: Mi parli di quell’incontro? | Compatangelo: Can you tell me about the meeting? |
| Trump: Non so cosa dirle! Mi ha implorato di fare una foto con lei! Voleva una foto con me così tanto. L’avrei anche non fatta, ma mi ha fatto pena! | Trump: I don’t know what to tell you! She begged me to take a picture with her! She wanted a photo with me so badly. I might not have done it, but I felt sorry for her! |
| Compatangelo: Cosa ha suggerito a lei e agli Alleati europei di fare in Ucraina? Ha già risolto otto conflitti, cosa ha suggerito loro? | Compatangelo: What did you suggest to her and the European allies to do in Ukraine? You’ve already resolved eight conflicts—what did you suggest to them? |
| Trump: Gli europei hanno sbagliato tutto sull’energia e hanno sbagliato tutto sull’immigrazione, e se non risolvono questi problemi l’Europa non sarà mai più la stessa. Probabilmente non riusciranno a risolverli. L’immigrazione è un disastro, e l’energia, con tutti quelle pali eoliche che sono un fallimento, è un disastro. Parlerei ancora, ma adesso devo andare. Grazie! | Trump: The Europeans got everything wrong about energy and they got everything wrong about immigration, and if they don’t solve these problems Europe will never be the same again. They probably won’t be able to solve them. Immigration is a disaster, and energy, with all those wind turbines that are a failure, is a disaster. I would talk more, but now I have to go. Thank you! |
| Compatangelo: Grazie, signor Presidente. | Compatangelo: Thank you, Mr. President. |
Compatangelo opens with a substantive question about Ukraine. It’s actually two questions, one on the specific issue of EU membership for Ukraine, the other an open-ended invitation to discuss possible pathways to peace in Ukraine. A responsible, thoughtful President would seize the opportunity to explain and affirm the United States’ position, praise our European allies—and we’re on Italian radio, so single out Prime Minister Meloni for her leadership—for their steadfast support of Ukraine, emphasize that Ukraine’s continuing integration with the European economy poses no threat to Russia, and urge Russia to return to the peaceful, collaborative international relationships that are in every nation’s best interest.
But in Donald Trump’s mind, none of that responsible statesmanship is as important as getting to the insult he’s loaded in his chamber for Prime Minister Meloni. Trump dismisses the Ukraine question with two short, vague sentences and asks the reporter how his PM is doing.
The question is ridiculous, and the reporter says so, but with more diplomacy than Trump has ever displayed: you just talked with her; what do you think?
Trump fishes with another rhetorical question, which the reporter gamely tries to answer by imagining the flattering diplomatic comment his Prime Minister would offer the President of the United States. Trump then fires the big insult he’s practiced all morning, essentially calling the Italian leader a weak, desperate, pitiful worm.
Persistently professional and diplomatic, Compatangelo doesn’t take Trump’s bait. He pursues the Ukraine question as doggedly as Trump pursues the chance to insult. Again exercising diplomatic flattery, Compatangelo gamely references Trump’s claim that he’s ended eight wars and asks him to lay out what he suggests to resolve the big one he said he’d resolve 516 days ago.
Apparently frustrated that his big insult to PM Meloni isn’t getting traction, Trump decides to unload on all of Europe. Without a word about Ukraine, Trump goes off on immigration and wind turbines, says Europe can’t solve any of its problems, and abruptly ends yet another interview that doesn’t go the way he wanted.
Let that all sink in.
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, comes off as reckless, peevish, and childish.
Trump shows more interest in dishing a personal insult to the leader of a close ally, a prime minister in whom he ought to recognize an ideological kinship in right-wing nationalism, than in explaining the United States position on and rallying friends and foes alike to a swift and collaborative resolution of the most serious military conflict on the planet.
Even if Prime Minister Meloni aggressively pursued a photo opp with the President of the United States (and there are plenty of good reasons to do so), telling the world the PM did so serves no diplomatic purpose. It doesn’t improve U.S.–Italian relations—Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has already canceled a visit to the U.S. planned for tomorrow and Monday. It doesn’t build trust between Trump and other world leaders having private conversations. And it sure as heck doesn’t signal to Russia and other foes any greater unity among the Western allies.
But Trump is lying, and Prime Minister Meloni is willing to say so:
Meloni took to social media on Friday to set the record straight and said she was “frankly stunned” after Trump made the comments to Italian channel La7.
“Certain things merit an immediate reply. Donald Trump’s declarations are completely fabricated,” Meloni said in a video statement posted on X.
“I am frankly stunned. I don’t know why the US president behaves this way towards his own allies” Meloni said. “After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”
“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t share the same resolve towards the enemies of the West, towards the enemies of the United States, towards leaders with whom he is, on the other hand, much more accommodating,” she added.
“But there is one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg,” the Italian prime minister said [Kieran Burke, “Meloni ‘Stunned’ by Trump’s Comment She ‘Begged’ for Photo,” DW, 2026.06.19].
The problem here is not just that Trump is telling another misogynist lie. Even worse, as PM Meloni points out, Trump is once again throwing childish insults at America’s friends instead of embracing their willing help in standing up to America’s enemies.
Donald Trump puts his personal peeves ahead of the national interest in fostering good relations with allies. That failure to put America first should rally patriotic members of Congress to overrule and impeach him… or motivate patriotic voters to elect a new Congress that will and set the stage for the election in 2028 of a true diplomat and statesman to the White House.
In Trump world, there are no allies. “Allies” carries an implication of equality. Trump has only subservients and enemies. Demeaning others is Trump’s childish move to assert dominance.